


Divergent Bonds

by runningwafers



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Redemption Arc, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ba Sing Se, Book 2: Earth, Coming of Age, Developing Friendships, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Theater Nerd Zuko (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko Joins The Gaang Early (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25384489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runningwafers/pseuds/runningwafers
Summary: A chance encounter with a stranger at a low budget play in the Lower Ring kicks off a friendship that changes the course of Zuko's destiny.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Sokka & Zuko, Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 311
Kudos: 1514
Collections: A:tla





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the purposes of this story, Toph was late reuniting with the gang in The Chase and missed the fight with Azula. She has never met Zuko.

He saw the poster while passing through the market stalls shopping for the week's provisions. _Nobility Rising,_ it read, _A Stellar Theater Production_ , with an address to the theater and showtimes listed below. Zuko knew the play and had always assumed it was a Fire Nation story, so he was surprised to see it being performed here in Ba Sing Se. From his pocket he pulled out the grocery list prepared by his uncle and asked a nearby vendor for a brush to jot down the play's information on the back. 

_Nobility Rising_ was one of Zuko's favorite stories, a dramatic tale of a young noble struggling between his duty to his country and his love for a girl from an ostracized family. As a child, Zuko had been drawn to the protagonist, and after his banishment, he'd thought about the story on occasion as mirroring his own. One day, he hoped he could follow the protagonist's path and atone for misdeeds to be seen as a hero by his countrymen and family. It was unlikely that an Earth Nation theater in Ba Sing Se's Lower Ring could do the complex story justice, but he was curious to see it performed.

The theater was at least half empty when he arrived, and he found a seat at the rearmost bench that was shared with only one other person. It appeared to be a girl, her body leaned awkwardly forward to plant her bare feet on the ground. The seat was too high for her short stature, but she didn’t seem disturbed by the strange posture. When the curtains rose, he noticed she didn't look up.

The opening scene was familiar as a boy (played by a man who had to be at least thirty) sat on the edge of a lake and monologued about his uncertain future. Zuko had always liked this scene, but the actor on stage was absolutely butchering it. The entire point of this character was his anguish over following his heart or his duty, but the actor spoke as if he was talking about the weather, not at all setting up the internal conflict that drove the story. It was far too jovial in tone, not to mention stiffly worded. Was it just a poor translation?

“How can I do what is expected of me?” the actor said with far too much exuberance, causing him to stumble forward as he kneeled in a weirdly cheerful bow. “When my heart beckons me so?"

A loud snort erupted from the girl beside him that she made no attempt to mask. Zuko couldn’t help a small chuckle and quickly covered his mouth with a hand. 

“Are they serious with this?” the girl whispered to him, scooting closer. “I’ve seen this play before, Duyi is supposed to be tortured. Is he smiling? It sounds like he’s smiling.”

Zuko noticed the girl was still leaned forward, her gaze resting on the bench in front of her rather than the stage. He looked up at the actor.

“He’s got sort of a dazed grin,” he whispered back. “It’s not right at all.” He couldn’t help but feel rude speaking during a play, but they were all the way in the back and he’d already lost most of his respect for the group putting it on. 

“I knew it,” she said with a giggle. “I can’t wait to see how they’ll butcher the garden scene if it’s already this bad.”

The play failed to improve, but he found himself enjoying it. This was in no small part due to the continual flow of scathing yet humorous comments from his fellow patron. He added in his own when he could, pleased when she laughed at his criticisms.

“I think some of the other patrons disliked our commentary,” he mentioned as they emerged onto the street.

“One of the perks of being blind is that I don’t have to see anyone’s looks of disapproval,” the girl said. “I’m Toph, by the way.”

“Lee,” he replied, the name still feeling awkward in his mouth.

She paused for a moment at the introduction before responding, “Nice to meet ya, Lee. You live around here?”

He nodded and then realized his mistake. “Yeah,” he answered, “but I’m new in town.” He hoped that would be the end of her questioning. He wasn’t sure what to say about his past. 

“Me too,” Toph said. “I’m not a big fan of cities, but at least there’s stuff to do. Even if the entertainment so far seems a bit...” She trailed off, sucking a breath through her teeth.

A response didn’t immediately come to him and he was embarrassed at how long it had been since he’d had a casual conversation with anyone but his uncle, how awkward it felt. “I’m sure there are reputable playhouses in the Upper Ring,” he said after a beat. 

Toph clicked her tongue. “Yeah, but this was more fun anyway. My parents used to drag me to shows at those fancy theaters. They’re usually pretty boring.”

Zuko didn’t mention how much he loved those fancy theaters when his mother let them attend. “Why did you come to this show, then?”

She shrugged. “I thought it could be funny. And it was.”

He was a bit curious what a newly arrived blind girl was doing going to shows by herself in the Lower Ring, but any questions could draw questions in return, so he held his tongue.

“Well, I should probably get back to my friends,” Toph said. “But it was nice meeting you. You’re funny.” He was relieved she couldn't see his blush. “You know, I heard they’re doing _The Lost Heart_ next. I’m sure it will be terrible. That play’s already a bunch of overly dramatic romantic garbage.”

“I saw a poster for it,” Zuko answered, turning back toward the theater to look for more information. “The first performance is in three days,” he read, “Same time as this was.”

“You want to go?” The invitation was offered easily, without any hesitation, to a complete stranger. Did people just do that?

“Um, okay,” Zuko replied, running a hand through his hair. As strange as he found the invitation, the idea of going again did seem appealing. “I’ll meet you here?”

“Great!” she answered with a wide smile. “See you in three days, then." 

"Yeah," Zuko said, offering a wave before realizing she couldn't see it. "Um, bye."

Toph turned to head in the opposite direction and Zuko made his way back to the apartment, still a bit bewildered by the evening's events.

"Welcome home, Nephew," his uncle greeted as Zuko entered the apartment, not looking up from the dishes he was tending. "How was your evening?"

"It was fun," he replied, surprising himself with how true that felt. Going to the play at all had been a whim, and if he was being honest, he hadn’t expected to enjoy himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he did something just for fun. 

"Was the play any good?"

"No, not at all," he answered as he headed toward his room. "Goodnight, Uncle.”

“Goodnight, Prince Zuko.”

* * *

The following three days passed slowly as he awaited his next evening with Toph. She was just a kid, a few years younger than him at least, but she was a person who didn’t know his past and seemed to enjoy his company. It was pathetic how rare and special that felt, so he tried not to dwell on it and instead allowed himself to simply look forward to something for once. 

He hadn’t mentioned her to Uncle, perhaps because it was rare to have anything to himself, and thankfully his uncle didn’t pry. He didn’t try to invite himself along, either, when Zuko announced he was attending another play.

“I hope you enjoy your evening,” Iroh said as Zuko made to leave. “I won’t wait up,” he added with a wink.

Unsure what to do with that implication, Zuko gave a stiff nod and headed to the theater. Toph was waiting outside, kicking absently at the cobblestone street with dirty bare feet. He wondered if she couldn’t afford shoes or if it was a lifestyle choice. 

“Hey,” she said when he approached. How had she known it was him? “You know, I don’t really know anything about you. Usually I greet my friends with a nickname, but that would require knowing more than just your name and opinions on bad theater.”

Zuko's chest felt tight at the idea of having a nickname. “I work at a tea shop,” he said. “My life’s not that interesting.” 

“Tea, huh? What’s your favorite?” 

“Ginger, I guess.” He paused. “But please don’t call me that. Just Lee is fine.”

Toph laughed, a bright and happy sound. “Sure thing, Teaboy.” She nudged his arm, the impact more harsh than he would have expected. “Shall we?”

The play was even worse than the last, heavily overacted and poorly staged, though he wasn’t sure even good performances could save such a sappy and illogical storyline. Low budget was one thing, but whoever was directing these messes had no idea what they were doing, and surely it couldn’t be that hard to find better material. 

“I thought Luli liked Weimin, why is she so excited to go to the palace with Han?“ Toph asked midway through, barely attempting a whisper.

“I thought she liked Yun?”

Toph snorted. “Why are there so many characters when they’re all basically the same person?”

“Who knows. The actor playing Han isn’t bad, though.” He was easy on the eyes, too, which Zuko was pretending not to notice. 

“Are you serious? After that long monologue with all the fruit metaphors?”

“He did what he could with it.”

“Awfully generous of you, Teaboy.”

The play dragged several acts too long, and Zuko found himself yawning toward the end of it. 

“I know, this is way worse than the last one, and that’s saying something,” Toph said. “You wanna leave?”

“You don’t want to find out if Luli picks Yun or Han? It’s almost over.”

“Somehow I think I’ll survive. If I remember, she picks Han.” She nudged him with her foot. “Come on, I’m hungry.”

They earned a few glares for leaving early, but Zuko found he cared even less this time. Toph let out a heavy sigh as soon as they were back on the street.

“Yikes,” she deadpanned. “I knew theater could be bad, but that was something else.”

“Yeah,” Zuko agreed. “The last one was funny-bad, this one was just…”

“Bad-bad?”

“Yeah.” He heard Toph’s stomach grumble. “You said you were hungry?”

Her face lit up at the mention of food. “There’s a market a few blocks over. I smell street food.”

A meal didn’t sound too bad, even though he was still unimpressed with Earth Kingdom cuisine. At least Toph seemed to know what to order, and they sat next to a fountain to enjoy a late dinner.

“So,” she said through a mouthful. “You’re new in town. Refugee?” 

“Yeah,” Zuko answered, straightening his back. “I don’t really like to talk about the war.”

“ _Nobody_ here does,” Toph said with heavy indignance. “I don’t get it. They pretend like it doesn’t even exist.”

“I guess it’s easy to ignore within the walls,” he said, wondering how he could steer the conversation elsewhere.

“I guess,” Toph said as she picked out a piece of meat from her teeth and flicked it on the ground. “Too bad that play was so terrible, it sounds like they’re running it for a whole month. You know anything else to do for fun around here?“ Her face lit up. “Like an earthbending tournament?” 

Zuko hadn’t considered the existence of such a thing, but it seemed like they must exist. “I don’t know,” he answered. “I could probably find out.”

“They have them where I’m from,” Toph said with a wide grin. “I used to be the champion, but someone messed up my last win. I won’t let it happen again.” 

“You’re an earthbender?” he asked with surprise, although it made sense, given how easily she seemed to navigate the world despite her impairment. 

“Try not to sound so shocked. I’m kind of the best earthbender around,” she boasted. “Find me an underground tournament and you’ll see.”

“What, you want to compete?” It was hard to imagine this small girl competing in an underground bending tournament in a big city like Ba Sing Se; surely it would be much rougher than whatever competition she had been in before. 

“Sure, why not?” She paused as if focusing on something. “I can tell you have doubts, but trust me, I’m a pro.”

He had to admit he was curious. “I guess I’ll have to take your word for it. I’ll see if I can find out about something like that.” What was he doing, agreeing to put a child in danger?

Toph pumped her fist. “Finally, something interesting in this city! Are you a bender?”

“Oh, uh,” he stumbled, “No.”

Toph hummed and then said, “Too bad.” She jumped up from her seat. “We should meet up again soon. You can tell me if you find an earthbending tournament. You should definitely enter my name if you do; I go by The Blind Bandit. Feel free to make bets, too, if you need some extra money. I’m a sure thing.” She pointed a thumb at her chest.

Who was this girl? Her confidence struck him dumb, and he muttered out a simple, “Sure.”

“Sweet! How about we meet here in two days? Same time as the play? If you can’t find a tournament I’m sure we can figure out something else to do in this stupid city.”

“Yeah, okay.”

She spun on her heel to leave. “See ya around, Teaboy.”

* * *

Finding out about secret underground earthbending tournaments was surprisingly easy; it was a wonder they weren’t shut down (or perhaps they were an open secret?). The matches happened twice a week, which meant they would have to meet up a different day if they wanted to attend. Despite his desire to do as Toph had asked, he couldn’t bring himself to enter her name. He’d never even seen her bend, and he had no idea what she was capable of. It was too dangerous. 

“Aw, man,” she said when they met up the next evening, grabbing some dinner from the market and eating as they walked. “You really didn’t enter me?”

“You’re a child,” he reasoned. “Children shouldn’t be fighting adults.”

A mound of rock rose up from the ground in front of his foot, causing him to stumble forward onto the street, his food nearly tumbling out of his grasp. “Ow! What was that for?”

“I told you, I’m perfectly capable of handling myself.” She crossed her arms in front of her. “I’ll prove it to you.”

He brushed the dirt off his clothes as he stood up. “How?” he asked indignantly. “I told you, I’m not a bender.”

“I know you’re lying.”

Fear seized his heart. “What do you mean? I can’t earthbend.”

“Well, that was the truth, which means you’re some other kind of bender.” Her eyes went wide. “Oh! You must be a—” She stopped herself. “Oh.”

How in the world did she figure him out so easily? He took a deep breath and said nothing. 

“There’s gotta be somewhere we could fight,” she said, thinking hard.

“I’m not going to fight you!” he sputtered. 

“Why not?” She stomped down a foot, the earth quaking beneath her. “You won’t let me fight anyone else, but you won’t fight me either! Ugh, you’re just like my parents.”

He sighed. “I take it that’s not a compliment.” Lowering his voice, he added, “Listen, I’m a refugee here, I’m not looking to make any trouble for myself. Or my uncle.”

“You’re here with your uncle?”

“What? I, yeah, that’s—That’s not important. I get you want to show off your earthbending, but I trust you’re good. I don’t need to see it.”

“I don’t want to show off,” Toph huffed, throwing her hands in the air. “I’m just bored.”

Yeah, Zuko was bored, too. If he was being honest, he was kind of itching to fight her. He didn’t have much experience fighting earthbenders, and the fire thrumming beneath his skin was begging for some kind of release. It was the longest he’d ever gone without bending and he missed it. 

“I know,” he said. “But it’s too dangerous. Maybe if we got outside the city or something, but—”

“You’d fight me if we got outside the city?” she asked, squeezing her fists with glee.

“I didn’t say that."

“Yeah, you did.” Her voice was calmer now. “Okay, I guess I understand where you’re coming from,” she admitted. “We’ll go to the tournament tomorrow just to watch, and then—”

“How do you watch, anyway?” he said, grimacing at the awkward interruption. Why couldn't he talk like a normal person? “A play you can listen to, but—"

“Oh!” She pointed down and wiggled her toes. “With my feet. I can see pretty much anything if I’m on the ground. Not a big fan of water or the sky.” Why would she be in the sky? “Like I was saying, tomorrow we’ll go in the audience, and in the meantime I’ll try to scope out somewhere we can fight.”

Arguing at this point seemed fruitless, so he agreed to the plan. It was unlikely she could find anywhere that wouldn’t be some sort of risk. He could deal with that later. They ate for a few minutes in silence, Toph seeming content to focus on her food. They had gotten dinner from the same market as before, this time ordering dumplings filled with beans and potatoes. He’d eaten far worse over the course of his banishment and tried to enjoy the bland meal. 

“So,” he said after a bite. “Your parents don’t approve of your earthbending?” It struck him as odd, the way she had talked about it before. He couldn’t imagine parents being anything but proud of raising a strong bender.

“Ugh, no,” she said, not bothering to swallow before speaking. “They treat me like I’m some fragile flower. As if I can’t handle myself just because I’m blind. I had to learn earthbending on my own, the ‘teacher’ they hired for me barely let me lift a pebble.” 

“You’re self-taught?” That seemed impossible, or else she wasn’t as good as she claimed. Even Azula had needed lessons to hone her skills.

“Sort of, I learned from the badgermoles,” she explained as if that was a normal thing. “They’re the original earthbenders, blind like me. My parents never knew about it. They never knew about the earthbending tournaments, either. I’m sure they don’t know I’m in Ba Sing Se.”

“You ran away,” he said, putting the pieces together.

“Yup!” she replied. “It’s better this way. I can finally live my life the way I want.”

Zuko stabbed one of the dumplings with a chopstick. “So you don’t care at all for their approval?”

“No,” Toph replied with a scoff. “Why should I? They don’t care about what’s best for me; they only care about fitting me into some box they’ve created of who they think I am.” She spat on the ground. “They don’t even know me.”

Her lack of concern over something that had driven almost every decision in his life was so startling, Zuko could barely imagine it. But Toph wasn’t royalty. It wasn’t the same.

“What do your parents do?”

She groaned. “They’re nobles. They don’t really _do_ anything besides boss people around. My ancestors were bankers, and I guess my family still is, but now they can afford to hire people to do pretty much anything that needs doing.”

The Beifongs, Zuko assumed. He hadn’t known they had a daughter. During his studies in the Fire Nation and his years chasing the Avatar, he’d learned something about the elites of each nation. Such information could prove useful when fighting a war. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or throw up at the positions they now found themselves in. A prince and a noble’s daughter, sitting in the middle of a dirty street like commoners. It pained him to admit it was hardly as awful as he would have once imagined.

“Don’t get all weird now you know my parents are loaded,” she said, kicking him lightly. “I’m not like them.”

“No,” Zuko agreed, “I can’t imagine you are.”

“What about you?” she asked, not prying but simply curious. “If you’ve been to see decent theater before I can’t imagine you’ve always worked in a tea shop.”

He took a moment to consider how to answer that. “I don’t really have a relationship with my parents anymore.” He didn’t know how else to put it without going into specifics, but it felt true enough for the time being, however much it hurt to admit. “But we were wealthy growing up, yes.”

Toph gestured to the street in front of them. “And look at us now!” she laughed.

He wondered what she was doing here, what she expected to do with her life without her parents and, from what he could tell, without a source of income. Objectively, it was a foolish decision, but he couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. She chose this, her freedom, and she knew how to enjoy it. The circumstances were so different from being ostracized, cast out and left to fend for himself against his will, but, well, it was like Toph said. _Look at them now._

* * *

Underground earthbending tournaments, it turned out, were extremely cool. Did they have stuff like this in the Fire Nation? If they existed, he’d never heard of it.

“I told you,” Toph said, leaning forward on the railing in front of them. “These tournaments are awesome. But I could totally take these guys.”

“Really?” Zuko asked, unable to mask his skepticism. The bending in the arena was intense, and one guy had already been carted away for his injuries.

“Oh yeah,” Toph said with confidence. “This is nothing.” She leaned back in her seat and smirked. “That’s why you should fight me, so you can see for yourself. I promise not to hurt you too bad.”

“Oh, you found a place someone like me can’t get caught out?”

“Actually, yeah!” Toph said with glee, ignoring his sarcasm. “There are loads of underground spaces beneath the city. Some of them are used for stuff, but there’s a huge empty room over in the southern part of the Lower Ring. I walked over it several times and I can tell it’s not used for anything. I’m pretty sure it used to store water but it’s all been diverted to a new system or something.” 

Zuko stared at her. “How do you know all that?” 

She lifted up a dirty foot and wiggled her toes. “I can keep scouting it for a few more days if you’re worried, but I’m sure it’s fine.” She chuckled. “I’m totally gonna kick your ass.”

The crowd let out a loud whoop as a huge chunk of rock smacked into one of the benders, flinging her off the arena.

Toph put her hands behind her head and leaned back. “You think you can handle it, Teaboy?”

* * *

So. Zuko was going to risk his and his uncle’s livelihoods and safety to fight a child. He never claimed to be a paragon of responsible decision-making. 

Toph was right about the room she’d picked; it was some sort of abandoned water storage facility that now sat empty beneath an old warehouse. It was safe. It had to be safe. Right?

“Alright, Teaboy, we need to lay down some ground rules?” She grinned. “Get it? Ground? ‘Cause I’m an earthbender?”

Zuko ignored the joke. Honestly, he didn’t know what kind of rules should apply to a match like this. “No permanent injuries?” 

Toph smacked her foot on the ground to lift up a chunk of rock. “I’ll see what I can do.” She thrust the boulder above her head. “Ready?”

Zuko cracked his neck, readying his stance. “Bring it.”

He launched himself into a kick and a beam of fire erupted forward, crashing into the boulder Toph hurled at him and splitting it in two. Spirits, it felt good to firebend. All that energy that had been simmering inside him could finally release, exploding from him as Toph launched her assault of earth.

She pulled no punches, unrelenting and barely breaking a sweat as she manipulated her surroundings with precision. He held his own, meeting her move for move, but he wasn’t used to fighting an opponent that could literally control the ground beneath his feet. It was a wonder his people had been able to take territory in the Earth Kingdom at all with what she could do, though he accepted her word that she must be particularly gifted.

He tired before she did, unable to recover his balance as a wave of earth thrust him up and sent him crashing to the ground. He groaned, sore but feeling more like himself than he had in weeks.

“Accept defeat?” she asked and she approached with her hand outstretched. He took it and rose to his feet. “Not bad,” she said. “You’re better trained than I expected. But I still could have killed you.”

To be honest, he wasn’t sure he doubted that. It should have made him mad, but he was too exhilarated from the fight to be angry. “Maybe I was going easy on you.”

Toph let out a laugh. “You weren’t. But thanks for not burning me, anyway.”

“Sure,” he said, brushing off his clothes from the dirt and dust she’d pelted him with. A smile tugged at his lips. “This was fun.”

“Yeah, it was,” Toph agreed, slapping him on the back. “It’s been way too long since I’ve gotten to do that.”

“You learned all that from the badgermoles?” He meant it as a genuine question, but she barked out a laugh as if he’d made a joke. 

“Well, not _all_ of it,” she said. “Some of that was all Toph.”

Her confidence never failed to startle him, but it was strange how refreshing he found it compared to Azula’s arrogance. Losing felt different with her, as if he hadn’t really lost at all. 

He arrived back at the apartment feeling more relaxed than he could remember being in a long time. 

“I’m glad to see you settling in, Nephew,” his uncle said when he returned home, pouring them each a cup of evening tea. “Can I ask what has got you looking so well?”

Zuko still hadn’t mentioned Toph, but suddenly he wanted his uncle to know about her. Well, not the firebending part, but the rest of it. “I met someone at one of the plays.”

“You met someone?” his uncle responded with a raised eyebrow. “I see.”

Zuko flushed. “It’s not like that,” he quickly amended. “She’s, like, twelve. But she’s really cool, an earthbender.” He proceeded to tell his uncle about the time they’d spent together, even mentioning the underground earthbending tournaments. “Does anything like that exist in the Fire Nation?”

His uncle chuckled. “Of course,” he answered. “Naturally, attendance at such events would be unbefitting for a prince. It is lucky that we have a chance at a different type of life here to have such new and exciting experiences.”

Zuko crossed his arms and frowned. It was hard to accept any positives in his life here compared to what it would be like if he could ever return home. “I guess.”

His uncle sipped his tea. “You should accept joy where you find it. It is not always so easy to discover.”

He didn’t care to acknowledge this claim, but as he laid in bed later that night, he wondered at the truth of it. Back in the Fire Nation, he’d never really had friends. He had Mai and Ty Lee, sort of, but they were always Azula’s friends first. Being privately tutored, he had no classmates, and the only other children his own age were hired companions or servants. After his banishment, he’d only interacted with his people in his uncle’s service. Toph was sort of his first real friend, someone who wasn’t forced into his company but had chosen it. Would he have ever had the opportunity for something like that, if he was back home? 

Maybe he could have this. A friend. Working at the tea shop wasn’t glamorous; customers were often difficult and the work was boring, but he was, in a sense, freer than he had ever been before. It didn’t feel like freedom—he hadn’t chosen it like Toph—but he had it all the same. It was up to him to do something with it. 

He fell asleep with a lightness in his chest and a sense of optimism that maybe his life couldn’t be what he’d always imagined, but that didn’t mean it had to be meaningless.

Of course, the feeling of ease was fleeting. Good things never lasted long for Zuko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, there are a million zukka fics with this premise. But what if this time... Toph?
> 
> This fic is mostly written, I'm planning to post updates once or twice per week. Always love and appreciate comments!


	2. Chapter 2

Zuko waited in an alley outside the earthbending arena for Toph, fidgeting with his sleeve as he watched spectators arrive and then disappear down the stairway to the entrance. The last tournament they'd attended had been fun, and he was looking forward to watching new opponents take the ring. Toph had tried to enter her own name to compete but lacked the funds for the entry fee. As intriguing as it would be to see her compete, he preferred not to be left alone in the stands and was glad to be attending as spectators for now. He'd been waiting almost twenty minutes when he finally saw her approach down the alley and let out a sigh a relief. The feeling quickly evaporated when he realized the figure next to her was _with_ her. 

“Teaboy!” she greeted, hurrying toward him. “I hope it’s okay that I brought my friend. He found out about the earthbending tournaments and invited himself along.”

Zuko gaped at the boy in front of him.

The Water Tribe warrior. 

Of fucking course. 

“What the fuck?” the boy said as soon as he got a look at Zuko, shoving himself in front of Toph.

“Hey!” she shouted, riding a wave of earth to push herself back beside him.

“What are you doing here?” the boy demanded as he drew a boomerang from his back. “Are you using Toph? What game is this?”

“I’m not using anyone!” Zuko cried, backing up into a defensive stance. His eyes glanced nervously to the alley. They were currently alone, but he knew other spectators would be filing through soon. “Toph, you know this guy?”

“You know each other?”

“Uh, yeah! This is Prince Zuko! You know, the—” 

Zuko leapt forward and covered the boy’s mouth with his hand. “Shut up!” he hissed. “Watch your mouth here.”

The boy licked his hand and Zuko drew it back with a yelp. “What the fuck?”

“Did you just lick his hand?” Toph asked with a surprised laugh.

“How did you even see that? That—that doesn’t matter! Toph, this guy is trying to capture Aang, we need to get out of here.” He looked at Zuko’s lack of weapons and drew a hand to his chin. “Or fight him, he can’t firebend in the streets—”

“Shut _up_!” Zuko whisper-shouted, slapping his hand over the boy’s mouth again. 

The boy mumbled something into his hand and attempted to wrestle free.

“Teaboy’s right,” Toph interjected. “I don’t know what’s going on, but we can’t talk here.”

The boy wormed his way out of Zuko’s grasp and put himself in front of Toph. “We’re not going anywhere with him! Are you crazy?”

“He’s my friend,” Toph insisted, shoving past the boy to Zuko’s side. “Let him explain himself. He can’t do anything to us in the middle of the day in the middle of the city, anyway. Plus, I can totally take him if he does.”

Zuko elected not to respond to that. The boy still had his boomerang lifted, but he didn’t make another move. “Fine,” he said. “What do you suggest?” The question was laced with disdain.

He groaned. He really did not want to do this, but it seemed he had no choice. “We can go to my apartment, I guess. It’s just on the other side of this district, by the tea shop where I work.”

Toph stepped forward and put her hands between Zuko and the Water Tribe warrior. “Alright? We go to Lee's apartment.”

“ _Lee?_ ” the boy asked incredulously. 

Toph put her hands on her hips and glared in his general direction. His hands raised in acceptance, still grasping the boomerang. 

“Yes,” she said. “My friend Lee who is kindly inviting a guy who just licked his hand and tried to fight him back to his home.”

“But he’s—”

“Sokka!”

The boy—Sokka, apparently—huffed. “Fine.” He gestured with a sarcastic flourish toward Zuko. “Lead the way, _Lee_.”

The walk back to his apartment was incredibly awkward, but though Sokka kept his guard up, he didn’t try anything. Toph kept her mouth shut and Zuko didn’t know what to say, either, as they made their way silently across town.

“My uncle’s still at work,” he said as he led them into the apartment.

Sokka’s eyes traced over the room as he entered with a frown on his face. “This is where you live?”

“You got something to say about it?” Zuko snapped.

“Aren’t you a prince?”

The tone of the question made him furious, but he took a deep breath and answered, “Not anymore.” He wasn’t sure if that was technically true or not, but it felt right to say.

“Wait, so you _are_ the guy who’s been hunting Aang?” Toph asked. Her tone wasn’t accusatory, only confused.

“Yeah, I _was_ ,” he answered. “But as you can see, I’m now a refugee. I didn’t even know the Avatar was in the city.” The fact that the Avatar was apparently in Ba Sing Se did give him a flutter of hopeful excitement in his chest, but now wasn’t the time. 

“He’s telling the truth,” Toph said. He still didn’t know how she did that, but he saw Sokka’s shoulder’s relax at her statement, so he must trust her ability to identify lies. He would have to watch what he said.

Sokka folded his arms. “What, you just work at a tea shop now and go to bending tournaments with Toph for fun?”

“And plays,” Toph added.

Zuko sighed. “Yeah, I guess. My uncle and I aren't exactly welcome back home." _And I haven’t captured the Avatar,_ he didn’t add.

“What, really? You’re not allowed back home?” The censure had dropped from Sokka’s tone, replaced with curiosity, and somehow that was worse. 

“No,” he answered, voice tight. “I was banished.” If they wanted any more explanation, they weren’t going to get it.

A heavy silence filled the room until Toph broke it to say, “He’s telling the truth. He doesn’t have to explain himself.”

“ _Doesn’t have to explain himself?!"_ Sokka scoffed. “Toph. I know you weren’t part of the team when he was, you know, hunting us down and attacking us, but this guy has literally tried to kill me. You can’t just ask me to be cool with him!”

“I haven’t,” Zuko interjected. “Um, tried to kill you, I mean. Why would I?”

Sokka stared at him, mouth agape.

“Another truth,” Toph announced.

“Okay, maybe your goal was not to kill me, specifically, but you’ve hardly held back using force that could kill someone!”

Zuko crossed his arms and considered. “Fair.”

Sokka shook his head. “I can’t believe this.”

“Me neither,” Zuko muttered. How was this his luck? Of all of the people in the entire city to befriend, he had to pick an ally of the Avatar’s. It occurred to him then that it was, perhaps, luck; it would certainly be easier to capture the Avatar through Toph. But there was no honor in exploiting a friend’s trust. 

“So, what now?” Sokka asked after a beat. 

“There’s still the earthbending tournament,” Toph suggested. “We probably only missed one match.”

“You can’t be serious,” Zuko and Sokka replied simultaneously, and then glared at each other. 

“Maybe you two have more in common than you think,” Toph shrugged. “And what else are we gonna do?” 

Neither Zuko nor Sokka found they could put up much argument to that.

* * *

There was something about sitting in the middle of an enthusiastic crowd watching others wail on each other that could bring people together. Sokka and Zuko had remained stiff and wary through the first match, watching each other more than the benders in the arena, but as the tournament went on, they’d both loosened up. By the third match, Sokka was cheering right along with Toph as one of the benders sent a huge wave of stone spiraling toward his opponent. 

Zuko had never paid much attention to the Water Tribe warrior, seeing him as just another obstacle standing between him and his redemption, but now that they were seated in close proximity, and without the threat of violence, Zuko took a moment to evaluate the other boy. He was slim but strong, not quite a warrior yet but a body that could handle a fight. His skin lacked any prominent visible scars, which meant he must be good at evasive maneuvering given the battles Zuko knew he'd fought in the past. One of his arms was raised in a cheer, and Zuko couldn’t help but admire the defined form of his bicep.

Oh, spirits, what was wrong with him? As if attending an earthbending match in Ba Sing Se with the Avatar’s allies wasn’t bad enough, now he had to— _F_ _uck._ He couldn’t think about this. He _wouldn’t_ think about this. 

He turned his attention back to the match and resolutely avoided looking at or thinking about Sokka for the rest of the event.

"Did you see that twirling move the last woman was using?" Sokka was saying to Toph as they made their way back above ground. "That was totally sweet. It looked so unassuming at first but the torque really built up—it was devastating! Something like that could really come in handy, especially against firebenders."

"Oh man," Toph answered, "that was a great move. Her opponent seriously underestimated her; she deserved the win." She turned toward Zuko, who had been silent so far. "What did you think, Teaboy? Who was your favorite?" He caught Sokka's posture stiffening as he remembered his company.

"Oh, well, I'm no earthbending expert," he said, drawing a hand to the back of his head. "But the winner did have some cool moves. I, uh, liked the second guy, too. When he kicked that huge pillar of earth forward and tripped his opponent, it was kinda like a firebending move." He gave an awkward shrug. "I guess that was pretty cool."

Sokka stared at him for a beat before responding, "Man, that was sick! I thought that guy would take the whole tournament."

"Yeah, but he was too predictable," Toph pointed out. "He didn't change his strategy at all. By the last match she knew how to anticipate him." 

"That's a good point," Zuko said. "I guess you know how to vary your strategies, then? Since you said you could take all those guys?"

"Dude," Sokka said, making as if to grasp Zuko's shoulder and then thinking better of it. "Toph could definitely take those guys. She's probably the best earthbender in the world."

Zuko nodded. “She’s very competent,” he said. “She was able to undermine me multiple times when we battled.”

"Wait, you guys fought?" Sokka asked, putting himself between them and glaring at Zuko. "When?"

"Relax," Toph answered. "It was just some friendly sparring; I cajoled him into it. And I kicked his ass."

"She kinda did," Zuko agreed, surprised at how little it pained him to admit. 

Sokka kept his eyes on Zuko as he relaxed his stance. “I guess that’s reassuring. That she can kick your ass, I mean—I guess I’m not surprised.” Zuko scowled at him and said nothing. It was one thing for Toph to say it, but he didn’t much like this boy agreeing. Sokka laughed. “Don’t be too offended, I know you can hold your own. I’m the one with just a boomerang.”

Zuko thought for a moment. “You’d be better off training with a blade,” he said. “You are skilled with the boomerang, but it’s not a useful tool in every type of combat. Even I don’t rely on bending alone. I’ve trained with dual dao since I was young.”

Sokka gave him an odd look with a grin tugging at his lips. “Thanks for the tip.”

Toph stepped between them, clapping them both on the back. “We’re all good fighters,” she said. “This was fun. We should go again. They happen twice a week, right?”

“Yeah,” Zuko said, surprised at the suggestion. Why would she still agree to hang out with him, knowing what she now knew? “Um, the next one’s in five days.”

“Awesome!” she said. “Sokka, you in?”

Sokka evaluated Zuko with an unreadable expression unreadable. He shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

Toph and Sokka headed to wherever it was they lived shortly after that, chatting amicably as their figures disappeared into the crowd. Zuko detoured aimlessly through the meandering Lower Ring streets and alleys, unsure how he was supposed to process the evening’s events. Toph seemed so unbothered by discovering his identity, and he supposed he was glad for it, even if he couldn’t understand. How did this not change everything? Guilt gnawed at his stomach as he considered how far he had given up on his goals for the Avatar’s friends to hang out with him. He’d done nothing to earn that trust, and yet the thought of betraying it was as disagreeable as the thought of having earned it in the first place.

It didn’t feel like an intentional choice. He’d stopped hunting the Avatar because of circumstance—he didn’t have the resources anymore. Zuko had never been good at considering the long-term, but somewhere in his mind, he knew this dalliance with his uncle in Ba Sing Se was temporary. Eventually he would have to rejoin the war. It was too painful to consider what form that might take, knowing that his own sister was hunting him on what must be his father’s orders, so he generally avoided thinking about it. He never meant to betray the Fire Nation, yet he was a traitor nevertheless.

Eventually, he found himself back at the apartment, dismissing his uncle’s invitations for conversation to go directly to bed. His thoughts were still swimming as he covered his head with his blanket, his body shifting restlessly. Every idea of how he could proceed was met with a hot flash of shame.

Having friends wasn’t treachery, he reasoned. It wasn’t as if he knew Toph was friends with the Avatar when they met. It wasn’t his fault, and it wasn’t as if he was helping them, either. They were just going to an earthbending tournament together. That didn’t mean he’d changed sides or that he would help them fight the Fire Nation.

He wasn’t doing anything wrong. (He resolutely avoided any consideration of the fact that Sokka was cute—that had absolutely no bearing on how he felt about this because it wasn’t something he’d noticed or would ever have reason to notice. No need to feel shame about something that hadn’t even crossed his mind.)

_He wasn’t doing anything wrong._

Right?

* * *

Toph was waiting for him outside the teashop when he finished his shift the next day.

“Hey, Teaboy,” she greeted. 

“Hi,” he answered, not sure anymore where he stood with her.

“Okay, you’re not going to believe this after yesterday, but I actually know your uncle.”

Whatever he had expected her to say, it wasn’t that.

“What?”

“Yeah! I was pissed off at Katara and Aang awhile ago so I ran away. I bumped into your uncle in the middle of the woods; he said he was following you and said a bunch of nice things about you. It was kind of annoying but also really sweet. He gave me some tea and some really good advice. It was right before you had a fight in an abandoned town with your sister, I think. I wasn’t there for that.”

Zuko stared at her. “Sure,” he said, shaking his head. “That might as well be true.” He looked over her to the street. “Where’s Sokka? I’m surprised he let you come and meet me again on your own.”

“Oh, he didn’t, I snuck away,” Toph replied cheerfully. “He’s probably going to be pissed off and he might try to track me down here, sorry about that. But I wanted to talk to you first, then I got distracted when I realized who your uncle was.”

“Have you talked to him? My uncle, I mean?”

“Not yet,” Toph replied. “I wanted to talk to you first. But I would like to say hello if that’s okay.”

Zuko nodded. “He’s off in an hour,” he said. “I’m going home to start dinner.”

“You can cook?”

“Not as good as uncle,” he admitted, “but the dish I’m making tonight isn’t too complicated. Are you, um, joining?”

“I won’t turn down free food!”

Toph didn’t offer to help with the meal, sitting on the floor and talking at him as he cooked. He didn’t mind; he found her commentary weirdly relaxing, and it made the task of cooking less boring. He had just finished up and was preparing for serving when his uncle walked through the door.

"Uncle," he greeted with a small bow. "My friend Toph is joining us for dinner."

"Hello again," she said brightly.

“Well,” his uncle said with a wide grin, “How fortuitous that our paths have crossed yet again, my friend. I never caught your name when we met before, it is nice to meet you properly. I am Mushi. I have heard many good things about you from my nephew." He joined Zuko, gathering three bowls from the shelf. "Did you know I have met your friend before?"

"She mentioned," Zuko said, setting the pot of curry on the table and taking a seat. He didn't know how to bring up that she was working with the Avatar, or even if he should. His uncle would be suspicious of his motives, which he supposed was fair, and he didn't want to ruin the evening. Having a simple meal together as mere civilians was nice.

They only made it halfway through eating before an aggressive knock sounded at the door, swinging open to reveal the Water Tribe boy. _Sokka,_ he reminded himself.

"Toph, what the fuck?" he demanded upon entering. "You can't just leave to associate with"—he gave an exaggerated gesture toward Zuko and his uncle—"without telling anyone!" 

"I never agreed to that! And it's rude to just barge in here. We're having dinner," Toph said.

"Another guest," Uncle said, his eyebrows raised. "A friend of yours?" he asked Zuko.

"Does he look like a friend?" Zuko snapped. "We met yesterday," he muttered, understanding that his uncle was really asking whether he knew Toph was friends with the Avatar. "I didn't know until then that they knew each other."

"It's okay," Toph said to his uncle. "I'm not holding any grudges."

"But you weren't even there when they were attacking us!"

"Yesterday you seemed cool; why are you all worked up again?"

"I'm not _worked up_ —"

Uncle stood up and walked to grab a bowl and spoon from the kitchen. "Why don't you join us? We have plenty."

"Uncle—"

"I think it is a fair response for him to be upset with us," he said, gesturing for Sokka to sit. "We have not always made your life easy. But we mean you no harm now."

Sokka looked skeptical, though he eyed the food with some interest. "Fine," he said as he sat down, his arms crossed.

"I'm afraid I do not know your name," Uncle said, spooning curry into Sokka's bowl. "I am Iroh. But my name is Mushi here. My nephew and I are here as refugees."

"Right," Sokka deadpanned. "Refugees. I'm Sokka." He took a bite of his food and made a noise of approval. "Hey, this is pretty good."

"My nephew is becoming quite the chef," Uncle beamed.

Zuko flushed at the attention. "It's nothing fancy," he muttered, looking down at his bowl and avoiding Sokka’s gaze. 

Dinner should have been awkward, but his uncle managed to steer the conversation toward banal topics of life in the city to ease the tension. Zuko was still on edge, unsure what Sokka hoped to gain or what trouble he wanted to cause by being here, and he didn’t say much.

“You’re awfully quiet, Teaboy,” Toph said after slurping down the remains of her curry. Of course she would call him out.

“I don’t know what you expect me to say,” he said, his body tensing. 

She shrugged. “Well, you usually have plenty to say when we’re hanging out. But now you’re acting all weird. Is it because Sokka’s here?”

Sometimes he did not appreciate her bluntness and he found himself at a loss for a response. 

“I can go,” Sokka said a bit awkwardly. “I can see there’s nothing nefarious about this dinner. Even if I still don’t trust you.”

“It is wise not to trust us, given our past,” Uncle said. “But you are welcome in this home as a friend, the same as Toph.”

Sokka nodded. “Uh, thanks."

Noticing that everyone was done eating, Zuko stood to gather the dishes. Typically, they finished their meals with a pot of herbal tea and some fruit, but Zuko hoped his uncle would not offer any reason for their guests to linger. 

"It is getting late, though,” he heard Uncle say with a yawn. “My nephew and I have early shifts tomorrow.”

Sokka and Toph took the hint, standing to leave and thanking them for the meal.

“Don’t forget the next tournament,” Toph said. “I got the money to enter this time and I’m gonna crush it. We’ll meet you at the same place and time as before.”

“He’ll be there,” Uncle answered for him, ushering them out the door. “Have a good night.” When it was closed, he turned to his nephew. “Well, I like them.” 

Zuko rolled his eyes. “I don’t understand my luck,” he said, scrubbing more vigorously than necessary at a bowl. “I make one friend and she’s with the Avatar.”

Uncle stepped beside him to grab two moon peaches and plates before preparing a fire for the tea. “Perhaps it is luck,” he said, “perhaps it is the will of the spirits, or perhaps it is merely a coincidence. It is not for us to decide.”

Zuko finished the dishes and set them to dry, shaking his wet hands into the water basin. “You think it could be the will of the spirits?” he asked, unsure what to make of the idea. 

Uncle shrugged, gesturing for Zuko to join him at the table as he sliced the moon peaches into wedges. “Who knows? You are not hunting the Avatar anymore, and now you have made friends with his allies. Perhaps this is a chance to make up for past offenses.”

Zuko frowned. “Do you think I need to make up for offenses against them?” What did his uncle mean? He’d helped Zuko hunt the Avatar for years, he had believed in the cause. 

“Circumstances change. When I was a general, I believed it was my destiny to capture Ba Sing Se.” He gestured around him. “But I do not believe it anymore. At least, if it is my destiny to do so, it will not be in the form I once imagined.” He slid the peach slices to Zuko. “Capturing the Avatar you believed for a long time was your destiny. But do you still believe it?”

His gut told him no. “I’m not sure.” The question that loomed, unasked and unanswered, was whether doing so would still be enough to grant him absolution. 

“You must decide your own path. I cannot tell you what it is. But you have an opportunity now. Whether it is fate or coincidence perhaps matters little.”

He took a bite of moon peach, considering these words. He was sort of tired of thinking about it. It was unclear what the Avatar and his friends were even doing in Ba Sing Se, seemingly with a lot of free time. 

“Oh!” Uncle said with exuberance, a bit of peach juice dripping down his chin, “This moon peach is delightful. You will have to remember where you bought it and be sure to get more next time.”

Zuko nodded, taking a sip of ginger tea. “Of course, Uncle.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Description of a panic attack.

Dinners with Uncle were Zuko's favorite part of the day, though he was loathe to admit it. After a hard day's work, it was nice to simply relax and eat a meal. When had his pleasures become so mundane and boring? He had to aspire to more, but for now, he focused on enjoying is soup. They were just finishing eating when a knock sounded at the door.

"Another friend, I am guessing?" Uncle said. He opened he door to reveal Sokka, who bowed in greeting instead of barging in as he had last night. "My nephew seems to be quite popular.” He chuckled and stepped aside to allow Sokka inside. 

Sokka gave Iroh an odd look and then addressed Zuko. "Hey, can I talk to you?"

Zuko looked to his uncle. "Go ahead, I will handle the dishes."

"Thank you, Uncle," Zuko said with a bow, gesturing Sokka to his room and closing the door behind them. The other boy went to sit on the floor next to his futon and Zuko hated the flutter in his chest at the sight. _There's a boy in my room._ He couldn't think about it.

Zuko cleared his throat. "What do you want?"

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Oh, you're only friendly when Toph's around?" he asked, leaning back onto his forearms.

"No," Zuko answered too quickly, embarrassed at how defensive he sounded. "I just meant you don't trust me."

Sokka raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, no shit, I'd have to be an idiot to trust you." He let out a sigh. "But Toph really likes you for whatever reason, and I can't stop her from seeing you. I guess I'm just trying to look out for her."

That didn't really explain what he was doing here. "I've already explained myself," he said. "I don't know what else you want me to say."

Sokka looked unimpressed. "You didn't really explain yourself, though. I still don't get your whole deal or what you're doing serving _tea._ "

Zuko tilted up his chin. "If you're expecting my life story—"

"I'm not," Sokka said, sitting up and putting up his hands in a gesture of peace. "I only wanted to talk. Maybe learn a little more about you, if you're going to be friends with Toph. That means we can't be enemies."

It was somewhat reassuring that Toph did have people looking out for her wellbeing, despite the annoyingly awkward position it now put him in. "Okay."

Sokka waited for him to elaborate. Zuko just shrugged.

"Right," Sokka started, tapping the floor absently. "So, tea?"

Zuko threw up his hands. "Do you have a problem with the fact I serve tea?"

"No!" Sokka insisted. "No, I just don't get it." He looked up. "Can you sit? You're making me nervous."

Zuko looked away, angry that he felt embarrassed, but did as asked. He crossed his legs and kept his back straight. 

"It's noble work," Zuko said, repeating his uncle. "My uncle loves tea and we need money." He cleared his throat. "It's not really that complicated."

Sokka hummed. "Okay. So, that's it? You're done being the prince, you're just a tea server now?" Seeing Zuko's scowl, he backtracked. "Not that there's anything wrong with serving tea, but it’s pretty different. From, you know, being a prince."

Zuko deflated a little. "I didn't choose this. I didn't choose to get exiled. I don't even know if I still am a prince or not." He looked at the floor instead of Sokka, unsure why he was admitting that. "If my father died today, I don't know if I would still inherit the throne or not. He would never allow it, but that doesn’t mean he’s formally revoked my birthright.” He scoffed. “I doubt he’s ever considered I might outlive him, so why worry about it?” 

A look of mild horror crossed Sokka’s face. "What'd you do?" he asked tentatively. "To get, um, exiled?” Zuko said nothing. "You don't have to tell me. Anything you did to get exiled by Ozai is a good thing in my book, so I'm just going to assume it was something cool."

"It wasn't _cool."_ Also, he kind of assumed Sokka already knew, at least of his most recent treachery. He was there, sort of, and surely the Avatar had told him that Zuko had once let him free from the Fire Nation. "I fought Zhao because he tried to have me killed for freeing the Avatar,” Zuko explained, struggling to keep his tone as neutral as possible. “And now my sister is trying to hunt me down and probably kill me. I assume she was ordered to do so by my father for going against Zhao. Coming here was better than going anywhere I’d have to face her.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Sokka said. Zuko could practically see the gears turning in his head. “You freed Aang _and_ fought Zhao, and that’s why you can’t go home? I mean, that sorta makes it sound like you’re on our side.” Before Zuko could respond, he went on, “Is your family really trying to kill you? Man, that is so fucked up.”

Zuko cleared his throat and tried to school his emotions. He hadn’t planned on talking about this, but it was too late to turn back now. It was hard to give an explanation for why he (probably, maybe) wasn’t going to backstab them without getting into all of it. “I didn’t do any of that because I’m on your side,” he explained in a tight voice. “I only freed the Avatar from Zhao because I needed to capture him myself, and I only fought him because he sent a bunch of pirates to assassinate me." He paused. "Also he’s an asshole.”

Sokka nodded. “He’s the reason my girlfriend turned into the moon.”

Zuko paused. “What?”

“Nevermind,” he said, shaking his head. “But I don’t get what you mean, you freed Aang just so you could capture him again? What does it matter who captures him? Isn’t the point of stopping the Avatar so that no one can keep the Fire Nation from taking over the world? That's like your whole deal." 

Zuko stiffened. He had never really considered this point before, and he wasn’t sure he agreed with the phrasing of ‘taking over the world,’ despite the increasing evidence he’d seen of its validity. “I don’t really care about that,” he admitted. “That’s not why I needed to capture him.” Need _to capture him_ , his brain corrected.

Sokka gestured for him to explain.

“I can’t return home if I don’t capture the Avatar,” Zuko muttered. “I was banished before the Zhao thing.”

“What?”

“I was banished over three years ago." He was reluctant to elaborate on the shame that had cost him everything. "My father’s terms were that I couldn’t come home unless I captured the Avatar.”

Sokka furrowed his brow. “Three years ago? But nobody even knew Aang was alive back then; nobody had seen the Avatar in a hundred years. How could he possibly expect you to capture someone who might not even exist?"

Zuko drew his lips in a tight line. “It's possible he didn’t.” His uncle would be proud to hear him admit it, that the terms of his absolution might have been a fool’s mission. He cleared his throat. “But then I did find him.”

“Right away, too,” Sokka said with a huff that was almost a laugh. “It was pretty impressive, now that I think about it.”

“Lot of good it did me,” he scoffed. It was weird to think about now, how absolutely driven to finding the Avatar he had been for so many years. He’d barely cared about anything else. In some ways he was closer to his goal now than ever, and yet the drive was fading, and he was starting to doubt it would even be worth it anymore.

“Give us some credit, we’re not totally incompetent at escaping the bad guys,” Sokka retorted and then pulled a face. “This is a weird conversation.”

Zuko nodded, not sure what else to say.

"I've had an image of you in my head for a while," Sokka continued, "but I'm starting to think it's not very accurate. At least, the person I expected you to be wasn't a pretentious theater nerd."

Zuko's face felt warm.

"And he didn't blush," Sokka added with a teasing grin. 

_Oh, fuck._ He blushed harder. Sokka laughed, an easy and charming sound.

"Sorry to disappoint," Zuko replied.

Sokka laughed again. "Oh yeah, I'm so disappointed you're normal and not trying to kill me." How did he smile so easily? It was disarming. "Or maybe not normal," he amended. "It's pretty not normal to have family members trying to kill you. What'd you do to get exiled in the first place?"

A wave of panic crashed into him and suddenly, it was all too much. He clenched his fists, trying to calm himself. “It’s”—he drew a shaky breath—“it’s none of your business,” he choked out. Spirits, he sounded pathetic. What was wrong with him?

“Sorry, um, sorry,” Sokka said, leaning toward him and then hesitating as if not sure what to do with himself. “You don’t have to answer that. You’ve already explained plenty.”

But he was already thinking about it. The hot shame of what he'd done wrong and what the consequences had been. Reliving that moment of sheer terror when his father had struck him, _humiliated_ him in front of his people. He hated thinking about it, didn’t want to think about it, why was this happening? It wasn’t as if he ever forgot, could ever forget, but now— 

Why had he told Sokka all of this? He told him everything, so easily, he was so _stupid—_

Sokka was still talking, but the words sounded muffled in Zuko's ears. Tears streaked his face and he backed away, crouching in on himself against the wall. “Please go,” he said, wiping his face with his sleeve.

“Hey, I’m sorry, it’s okay, I—”

“ _Leave,_ ” Zuko begged. 

"Are you—"

" _Go_ _."_

Zuko buried his face in his knees, not looking up to see if Sokka had obeyed his command. What was happening to him? Why was he like this? His breathing was ragged and uneven, and it was some time before he realized his uncle was seated next to him, rubbing circles onto his back. 

“I don't," he started as he became aware of his surroundings, “I don’t know what just happened.” 

Uncle drew his hand from Zuko’s back and reached for his teapot. “You have been through many difficulties,” he said. “It is natural to have reactions like this from time to time. When I was a general, I saw several similar episodes from my soldiers, even in times without danger. The past leaves its marks on all of us, and those who have endured the greatest struggles bear the largest marks.” He poured Zuko a cup of tea and handed it to him. “Your friend was very concerned for you,” he added. Right, Sokka. Tears pricked at his eyes at the thought of how badly he’d embarrassed himself. “It took much convincing for him to leave. I am sure he will be eager to know that you are all right.”

Zuko said nothing, drinking his tea and sniffing. They retired to bed shortly after, though Zuko did not sleep soundly, wondering if he’d just ruined his chance at his first real friendship.

* * *

Zuko was distracted at work the next day, struggling to attend to customers and keep orders straight. His uncle was forgiving, but Pao was less so. He was absently sweeping the floor when Pao grabbed his attention and said, “Customers.” To his surprise, Toph and Sokka were seated at one of the tables. He rubbed his sweaty palms on his apron and approached. 

“Hi,” he said.

“Hey!” Toph greeted, friendly as always. “It occurred to us that we’ve never actually tried your tea.” 

Sokka met his eyes and pointed across the room. “That customer over there suggested we make sure to request your uncle prepare it.”

“His tea is better,” he said unthinkingly. “Uh, but I’ve learned to make it fine. Uncle can make it if you prefer, though.”

“Can we get two pots?” Toph asked. “You know, compare and contrast?” 

“Uh, sure. What do you want?” He was usually better at taking orders than this, but it felt weird to use his customer service voice with them. 

“Whatever you think is good,” Toph said. “I’ll try anything.”

“Nothing weird,” Sokka clarified. “But sure, whatever you recommend.”

Zuko nodded and excused himself, making his way to the back counter. They were acting like everything was normal. Had Sokka not told Toph about his weird breakdown? Was he intentionally ignoring it? Zuko couldn’t get a read on them. 

“I see your friends are here to try our tea,” Uncle said as he slipped behind the counter. “I hope we can impress them.”

Zuko sucked in a breath and nodded, meticulous as he prepared a pot of aged pu’er. It wasn’t everyone’s favorite, but he thought Toph would appreciate the earthy flavors. He guessed they would prefer Uncle’s anyway; their jasmine black tea was a customer favorite.

He brought the tray to the table and made a show of carefully warming the cups with hot water before serving them each a cup of pu’er. 

Sokka took a sip and promptly spit it out. “What is this? It’s awful!” 

“No, this rules,” Toph said, her face lit up. “It tastes like fancy dirt!”

“It definitely tastes like dirt,” Sokka grimaced.

Zuko laughed. “I thought you might like it, Toph.” He poured Sokka a cup of the jasmine. “You’ll probably prefer Uncle’s.”

Sokka looked skeptical but gave it a sip. “Okay, yeah, this is way better.”

“More of the good stuff for me!” Toph said, taking the pot for herself.

“Do you have time to join us?” Sokka asked.

Zuko was surprised by the invitation and glanced toward Pao, who was looking over inventory on the other side of the shop. “Probably not,” he answered. “I think I’m on the owner’s bad side right now.”

“Aw, man,” Toph complained. “But it’s practically empty!” 

“Take your break,” he heard Uncle call. “I will cover for you. Pao, I am sure you don’t mind if Lee takes his break a bit early to sit with his friends? They seem like promising customers.” He couldn’t hear Pao’s grumbled response, but he saw his uncle gesturing for him to sit.

“I guess I’m taking my break,” he said, seating himself next to Toph. He stared at them, feeling awkward as the other two happily drank their tea. How had he ended up here, with the Avatar's allies seemingly content to just sit with him?

“How’d you get these jobs, anyway?” Sokka asked.

“Uncle got them. I never asked how."

"Just like that, huh?"

Zuko nodded. "Uncle can be very persuasive when he wants to be. And he's really good at making tea. I've heard people say he makes the best in all of Ba Sing Se." He couldn't help the pride in his voice at the statement.

"All tea kinda tastes the same to me," Sokka admitted. "Well, except whatever that was." He made a face at Toph's tea.

"Sorry you have such bad taste," Toph said, slurping loudly. 

"I used to think that," Zuko admitted. "But Uncle's rubbing off on me. I guess you learn to appreciate tea working in a tea shop."

The casual conversation continued for several minutes until his uncle gently reminded him to get back to work.

"Is it cool if we hang out here for a bit?" Sokka asked. "We have literally nothing going on today."

Again he wondered what in the world they were doing in the city, but of course he didn't ask and agreed to let them stay. It was a bit strange to work while they were relaxing, but he couldn't stand the idea of forcing them out.

The flow of customers picked up soon after that, as it usually did this time of day, and he became so busy he almost forgot they were there. When he did look over, he often saw Sokka writing things down on a piece of paper. His instincts begged him to figure out what they were working on, but he managed to keep himself from prying.

Eventually, they departed, making sure to remind Zuko of the earthbending match the next day. Zuko resumed his sweeping.

* * *

“Is she going to be okay?” Zuko asked Sokka. They were walking through the arena to find seats for the earthbending match, Toph having left them to join the other competitors. “She said she’s competed like this before, but is it safe?”

“She is the Avatar’s earthbending master. I’ve seen her fight loads of times, and I trust she can hold her own,” Sokka replied, shooting Zuko a sideways glance. “It’s nice that you’re concerned for her safety. Since you were the one who, you know, fought her underneath an abandoned warehouse knowing nothing of her abilities.”

“I wasn’t going to hurt her!” Zuko sputtered. 

“Yeah, okay.” He gave a half-laugh, a teasing glint in his eye. “But it was kind of stupid.”

In his gut, Zuko knew this to be true, but he didn’t appreciate it being pointed out. 

“Don’t get me wrong, it was stupid of Toph, too, to fight a stranger underground. But she's, you know, twelve?”

Several retorts popped up Zuko’s brain— _nothing bad happened, we were just bored, I’m not afraid of death_ —but he knew none of them made him look any better. Instead, he changed the subject. “So are you okay with it now? You don’t think I’m going to ‘use’ her anymore?”

“What, hanging out with Toph?” He shrugged. “Yeah. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think you really have it in you to intentionally exploit her in that way. Emotionally or intellectually.” 

Zuko tensed, realizing he was being insulted, but once again found he had no retort.

Sokka bumped his shoulder. “It’s okay. That means you’re, like, a normal person. I’m still worried that you might betray her—us, I guess—given the opportunity. But I don’t think you’re looking for one.” He slowed his step. “Are you?”

Zuko bristled at the question before admitting, “No.”

“Cool.” Sokka grinned and clapped him on the back. “Now let’s go watch her kick some ass.”

They took their seats halfway up the stadium not too far from where they'd watched last time. Zuko was starting to feel a sense of comfort in the arena—it didn't matter who he was here, and he didn't have the serve or impress anyone. He was only here to enjoy himself. It was a somewhat novel feeling.

Sokka leaned in toward him as Toph took the arena and scoffed, "Her opponent's laughing at her! Oh, I can't wait for her to put him in his place."

As a newcomer, Toph had to prove herself in the lowest ranked matches first before advancing. Zuko was still unclear how the small tournaments held on different nights related to each other, or even if they did at all, but he didn't really care.

Watching her bend, Zuko realized that perhaps she had gone easy on him when they had fought. Or, more accurately, that she prolonged the fight by not exploiting his weaknesses as rapidly as she was doing to these opponents. She made quick work of everyone who challenged her, catching them off guard before they even had a chance to get their bearings. 

“Wow,” Zuko said as he watched one of her opponents fly off the ring in a matter of seconds.

“I know,” Sokka said, leaning in to be heard over the roar of the crowd, “It’s pretty incredible. People always underestimate her. It’s smart the way she can turn that against them.”

Having fought the Avatar multiple times himself, it wasn’t hard to imagine what drew him toward an earthbender like Toph, and she was clearly very powerful with the technique. 

“Does it bother you?” Zuko asked. “To be around such powerful benders all the time?” He imagined it would make him feel inadequate, and he _was_ a bender.

Sokka sighed. “Honestly? Yeah, it kinda does.” He didn’t elaborate, turning his attention back to the match as a new opponent took the ring. “Get ‘em, Blind Bandit!” he yelled out. 

The next competitor was swiftly defeated, securing Toph the win. He shouldn’t have doubted her and was a bit regretful that he hadn’t bet on the outcome; he could use the money. Her winnings from the tournament were more than Zuko earned in a week, and they used the funds to celebrate at an upscale restaurant in the Middle Ring. 

It was strange to be served for once instead of being the one serving. A pang of homesickness lodged in his chest, reminding him of dinners back at the palace. It had been so long since he’d been waited on, and he felt a bit guilty at how little concern he’d given the lives of the staff back then. He glanced around the room and saw other diners enjoying casual conversations, their manners relaxed as they ate their meals. After years at sea and then living among commoners, he’d become accustomed to dropping his manners when eating, but he found himself out of his depth at this in-between.

“You alright there, Teaboy?” Toph asked. She seemed to have no such concern for manners, letting out a loud burp.

“Yeah, fine,” he answered. “Guess I’m not used to restaurants like this.” In fact, it was probably his first time in a restaurant at all.

“Me neither,” Sokka said, though he seemed perfectly at ease here. “Not like we have them in the Southern Water Tribe.”

“My parents never let me leave the house, so it’s still new for me, too. But we’re paying customers! No need to be so formal.” She slapped him heartily on the back and he coughed. 

Shooting her a small smile, he tucked back into his meal. Sokka had still made no mention of Zuko’s breakdown the other day and had treated him like a person. Zuko didn’t have much framework for what normal was supposed to look like, but he _felt_ normal around him, the same as he did with Toph. Like they were just friends, content to enjoy each other’s company.

Anxiety gnawed at him as he chewed on his noodles. He knew it couldn’t last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sokka canonically called Zuko stupid to his face and I believe he would do it again. More action will be coming soon, they can’t keep peacefully chillin’ in Ba Sing Se forever…


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Underage drinking
> 
> Note: Canon events are out of order. I took some creative liberties with the timeline.

Zuko rarely slept soundly, and the sound of light tapping at the window caused him to wake with a jolt. He snapped his head around and opened his mouth in surprise when he saw it was Sokka, gesturing Zuko toward him. He looked to his uncle, still snoring soundly, and tiptoed toward the window to slide it open. Silently and with a scowl, he held up his hands as if to ask, _Well?_

Sokka drew a finger to his lips and then pointed up toward the roof. _What did he want?_ Zuko’s heart thrummed in his chest. He looked back to his sleeping uncle and then nodded, gesturing to Sokka that he would follow. Luckily, Zuko was well-practiced in stealth and not waking his uncle, and he made his way up to the roof without a sound.

“What?” he asked, his tone clipped as he hopped onto the roof to see Sokka lounging back on the tiles, propped up on his forearms. 

“Dude, relax,” Sokka said, pulling a bottle from his bag and shaking it lightly. “It occurred to me that you’re way too tense and I thought maybe this would take the edge off.”

Oh. Zuko felt his face heat up. Sokka brought him up here to drink? And hang out, just the two of them, at night? He crawled forward, sitting on his knees a few feet from the other boy. 

Sokka popped the cork. “Besides, who else am I gonna drink with? Toph, my sister? The Avatar? Well, Toph would definitely want to, but I’m not that irresponsible.” 

Zuko was at a loss for words, but he took the bottle when Sokka offered it to him. “What is it?” he asked after a beat, giving it a sniff. 

“Some sort of rice whiskey? I’m not sure, I don’t have experience with alcohol. We don’t really drink it in the Southern Water Tribe.”

Zuko nodded and took a swig, immediately coughing as the foul liquid burned in his throat. “Um, I don’t either,” he said through a cough. He passed the bottle back to Sokka. 

After taking a drink, Sokka coughed as hard as Zuko had. “Oh,” he said as he recovered himself. “That’s strong.” He cleared his throat. “People don’t drink where you’re from?”

He appreciated the avoidance of the phrase ‘Fire Nation,’ even when it was unlikely anyone could overhear them. “People do,” he clarified. “I haven’t. I haven’t been home since I was thirteen. It’s customary to drink rice wine at fifteen or so.”

Sokka was silent for a moment. “Do you miss it?”

Wasn’t that a loaded question? “Yeah,” he said eventually. “Some things. But there were always a lot of, um, expectations and rules.” He certainly would never be doing anything like this back at the palace.

Sokka fumbled in his bag, searching for something, and eventually pulled out another bottle. “The vendor suggested mixing it with juice if it was too strong. I suppose I ought to have followed that advice first, huh?” He poured part of the first bottle into the second and gave it a shake before tasting it. “Okay, yeah, that’s way better.” He handed it back over to Zuko.

The burn was non-existent in the new concoction, and while the new combination of flavors was off-putting, it was tolerable. They passed the bottle between them as they talked about nothing in particular. Zuko caught himself rambling a few times, going into too much detail about the numerous problems with the _Stellar Theater_ plays or his grievances with a frustrating customer, but Sokka didn’t seem to mind. 

“Can I ask you something, um, personal?” Sokka asked, leaning toward Zuko and meeting his gaze. They had shifted closer while passing the bottle between them, and Zuko was now very aware of their proximity. 

“Uh,” he said, his mouth dry, “Sure.”

Sokka breathed in through his nose, as if steeling himself, and then said, “What was the deal with that weird shaved ponytail thing you used to have?” He put up a hand. “Don’t get mad, but it was kind of a weird look.”

Zuko didn’t know whether or not to be relieved at the question, and he stared down at his hands. “Oh,” he said. “Um, yeah. It’s a traditional thing.” He looked at Sokka and shrugged. “Your head is shaved. With a ponytail.”

Sokka drew a hand to his chest in offense. “Excuse me!” He pointed at his head. “This is a warrior’s wolftail. And it looks awesome. Nothing like whatever weird shit you had going on.” 

Zuko let out a small laugh, ducking his head. “Yeah, it does look better.”

“And what do you mean, traditional? I’ve never seen anyone else wear their hair like that. Is it a royal thing?”

He bit his lip. “N-no. I had to cut it after I first got banished. Because of, um. What happened.”

“Oh, um,” Sokka said quickly, “you don’t have to explain.” His expression was apologetic, probably due to Zukko’s weird reaction when asked about his banishment before. “It looks way better now, by the way. Maybe less intimidating? But you don’t need to be intimidating, since you’re, like, a tea server. It’s, you know, cute.” He scrunched his nose, cringing at himself. “Um, I mean, it looks nice.”

A wave of emotion rippled through Zuko that he was too repressed to identify. His mouth hung open, and he quickly looked for something to say when he realized he was staring. “I, um, lost a fight. Shaving the head like that is traditional for the loser, if they’re not killed, to show that they’ve lost their honor.”

“Oh,” Sokka said, a little breathless. “Uh. I guess that makes sense, ‘cause it’d be hard to look honorable with such a terrible haircut.”

Zuko snorted, the sound catching him by surprise. Sokka joined in and it felt so freeing, to laugh over nothing. Their laughter faded as they found themselves on their backs looking up at the night sky. A silence stretched between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable. 

"You haven't asked what we're doing in the city," Sokka said, his voice lower than before. The statement wasn't accusatory, only curious and a little cautious. 

Zuko swallowed. He wanted to put up an excuse, but instead what flowed out of him was honesty. "I don't really know where I stand in the war anymore. Asking you what you're doing here will make me want to get involved, and I guess I'm not ready to face what that would look like."

Sokka considered him. "That's completely reasonable, actually." He breathed out a laugh. "I guess maybe I already knew that." He didn't elaborate, but Zuko thought he understood.

Zuko continued, "Growing up, we never stopped hearing about how great the Fire Nation is. It's all we ever learned about. How the war is necessary to share our prosperity with the world, how the other nations are just too ignorant to realize how much better off they would be under our leadership." He felt tears prick his eyes. "But everyone fucking hates us."

Sokka rolled onto his side, facing Zuko and propping his head on his hands. "Well, yeah," he said. "My people are on the brink of extinction because of Fire Nation raids. So many have been killed. My own mother was killed by raiders."

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut. What could he even say to that? "I'm sorry." Guilt gnawed at his stomach. "And I'm sorry for, um, invading your village."

"At least you didn't kill anyone," he scoffed.

That almost made him feel worse, that not killing innocents was the standard he was stacked up against. "It was still shitty."

Sokka sucked in a breath. "Yeah," he agreed. "It was."

What could he say to that? They sat in silence for a few moments, until eventually Sokka sat up and added more of the rice whiskey to the juice. Zuko felt comfortably warm and a little loose, but he didn’t think he was drunk yet. He wasn’t sure what it was supposed to feel like, anyway.

Sokka shook the bottle and took a large swig before handing it to Zuko. 

“Do you ever think about how normal kids probably do this kinda stuff all the time?” Sokka asked.

Zuko scrunched his nose. “Not really,” he answered, taking a drink. “I guess I’ve never given much thought to what ‘normal’ kids do. I’ve never had the option of being ‘normal,’ so why think about it?”

“But,” Sokka started, “You kinda do now, right?”

Zuko picked at the label on the bottle. “Yeah. I guess.” He took another swig and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. In his gut, he knew he would rejoin the war in some capacity. No matter what Uncle suggested, this simple life in Ba Sing Se could never be his destiny.

“Me and Katara were the only kids our age growing up,” Sokka said. “I never realized how depressing that was until I got out and saw cities like this.” Zuko didn’t know what to say, but Sokka continued, “I always thought I had to be sort of the man in our tribe, the adult. I knew I wasn’t, but all the men left for war and there was just"—he swallowed—"me." And now I _really_ have to be the adult. I trust Katara, of course, but she can be hot-headed, you know? She doesn’t always think things through. And Aang and Toph are just kids. _I’m_ a kid. Someone has to strategize and plan because we’re fighting a war, but I’m just a kid from the Southern Water Tribe. I’m not a war general or anything like that. I’m so out of my depth all the time.” He took a deep breath. “Sometimes I feel like the fate of the entire world is in our hands and wonder who trusted us with this.”

Zuko stared up at the sky. “My dad forced me to duel him when I was thirteen.” He swallowed a lump in his throat. “I always thought I deserved my punishment, to be beaten and publicly humiliated by him because I disrespected him. But I was a child. Basically Toph’s age.”

“Is that how…” Sokka trailed off hesitantly. 

“Yeah,” Zuko answered, bile rising in his throat. “I refused to fight so he burned my face and then banished me.”

Sokka sat up and turned to face him, concern written on his face. “Zuko, that is fucked up. Really fucked up. It doesn’t matter what you did to ‘disrespect’ him, that’s—there’s no way you could deserve that.”

“Thanks.” He paused. “Um, what happened to you is really fucked up, too.”

Sokka looked up at the moon. “Yeah, I know.” He huffed out an exaggerated groan and held up the bottle. “You know, I got this so we could try to have fun for once. I think my mission is failing.”

“The earthbending tournaments are fun,” Zuko said. 

“True. But I don’t know. Sometimes I just wanna do something really stupid that my dad would yell at me for.”

“What would your dad yell at you for?”

Sokka drew a finger to his chin. “Good question, my dad doesn’t really yell. And he was never around when I was older to scold me for things. The last thing I got in trouble for was probably, like, penguin sledding through a crowd of people or something.”

“Sounds like fun.” He thought for a moment. “Your dad would probably yell at you for hanging out with the prince of the Fire Nation.”

Sokka barked out a laugh. “You’re totally right.” He leaned over Zuko with a grin, his head haloed in moonlight. “My teenage rebellion.” For a wild and terrifying moment Zuko thought he might kiss him, but instead he flopped back down on his back. Zuko forgot how to breathe.

He swallowed, heart racing. "Let's do something stupid, then."

"Like what?"

"I—I don't know," he stuttered. "I've done a lot of stupid stuff but never on purpose."

Sokka snorted. "I crashed a poetry reading the other day."

"What?" 

Sokka explained the story and Zuko couldn’t help being charmed at Sokka’s apparent aptitude for haikus. 

“Come up with one right now.”

“Okay, give me a sec.” He took a drink and then cleared his throat. “This city’s a bore, everyone ignores the war, some fun I’d go for."

Zuko began shaking with silent laughter. “That was terrible.”

Sokka sputtered with indignance. “Oh, let’s see you do better, poetry boy!”

“I never claimed to have skill,” he said, still laughing as he turned his head to Sokka. “So I don’t have to prove myself. I’m just an appreciator of the art.”

“Uh huh. Well, you like theater, so it tracks that you’d also like poetry. Kinda seems like you’re a nerd.”

It was said with affection, which was a complicated thing for Zuko to process. The arts were a shameful thing to enjoy, or so he’d been taught. 

Sokka suddenly sat up. “All right, I’m in."

"Huh?"

"Let’s go do something stupid! I'm in. For the stupidity. Any ideas where we should start?”

Zuko pondered. “No. But I’m good at improvising.” 

* * *

Finding trouble to get into was harder than it should have been given Zuko's track record. His sense of time faded away as they meandered around the streets of the Lower Ring hoping to run into something interesting.

"Hey," Sokka said in an exaggerated whisper, coming to a halt in the street and throwing an arm up to stop Zuko in his tracks. "Isn't that the customer you were complaining about the other day? The one who spilled tea all over you and then blamed you for it?" Sokka giggled. "It was super funny, but that guy was a total dick."

Zuko squinted down the street. "I'm not sure that's him," he admitted. "What do you suggest we do if it is?"

"I don't know, mess with him?" 

"Mess with him how?"

"You're the improviser!"

"Yeah," Zuko said with a determined nod. "Let's follow him."

Stealth proved to be much more challenging with two people, especially when those two people kept giggling and shushing each other. They didn't make it a block before the man whipped around and demanded to know what they were doing.

"Oh, that's not him," Sokka said, causing them both to start laughing again.

"You kids shouldn't be out this late," the man scolded, "The streets aren't as safe as they look."

"Yes, sir," Zuko said seriously.

"We'll, um, go right home," Sokka agreed with a curt nod.

"Kids," the man grumbled, turning down the street.

"Well, that was a bust," Sokka said as soon the man was out of earshot. "Want to—"

"You!" A familiar voice interrupted. Just down the street, silhouetted in moonlight, was Jet.

"Uh," Zuko started, panic overtaking him. _Why now?_

Sokka was squinting at the boy. "Jet?"

"Sokka!" Jet hurried a few paces forward, one hand on the hilt of his sword. "Listen, he's a firebender! Help me turn him into the guards."

"Wait, you know each other?" Zuko asked, looking between them. 

"Shhh!" Sokka said, drawing a finger to his lips in an exaggerated gesture. "He's not a firebender. He's my friend. So stop spreading baseless rumors."

"I've seen his uncle bend! He's Fire Nation!" 

Sokka waved him off. "This softie?" He poked Zuko in the chest. "Pfft. No way. Listen, man, I don't know what you're doing here, but you should leave. I know someone who _is_ a bender and it's my sister and she's gonna kick your ass straight outta town if she finds you here." 

Jet made a noise of frustration. "If you're not going to help, step aside."

Shit, they didn't have weapons. Zuko spotted a guard down the road and darted toward him, eyeing the swords on his hip.

"Zu—Lee, what are you doing?" Sokka asked, voice frantic.

"Settling this," Zuko responded, pulling the swords from the guard's sheaths. Perhaps a miscalculation he realized as he stumbled while readying his stance.

"Oh, spirits," Sokka interjected, reaching for his arms. "Don't steal the guard's swords."

"He's threatening us!" Jet's hook swords were drawn, his expression eager for a fight. Zuko's head was swimming, _oh shit,_ he couldn't do this.

Sokka was already grabbing the swords, delicately returning them to the guard. "Sorry, sir." He eyed Jet. " _Run."_

A hand reached out to grab his, dragging him forward as they both launched into a sprint.

"Come back here!" Jet was yelling, hot on their tail. "He's Fire Nation, he tried to steal your weapons! Arrest him!"

They ducked around a corner. "Up here," Zuko whispered, gesturing Sokka up a building. They clambered onto the roof and snuck across to an adjacent alley, dropping down into the shadows.

"I know you're there!" Jet's voice was still near and Zuko didn't know whether to laugh or panic. 

"This way," Sokka whispered, gesturing Zuko down the alley as the sound of Jet's footsteps trailed off in the opposite direction. 

Sokka grabbed Zuko's hand, tugging him out of sight behind a building. Rounding the corner, he crashed into a body, not realizing the other boy had stopped. For a moment, he stood frozen and wide-eyed before Sokka started laughing. They were standing so close. Zuko’s heart hammered in his chest, and he barely had a chance to register what was happening as Sokka draped his arms on Zuko’s shoulders and leaned in to kiss him. 

Everything went blank.

A million thoughts and emotions tried to cram their way to the forefront of Zuko’s brain, but they got stuck on each other and he couldn’t attend to any of them except one: _I’m kissing a boy._ The implications were too great and impossible to consider, so instead he focused on the feeling—this terrifying, wonderful feeling.

What was he supposed to do with his hands? 

Sokka broke the kiss and looked over Zuko’s shoulder. “Shit, he’s coming back this way,” he said. 

“What?” As Zuko’s brain began functioning again, he registered the sounds of rapid footsteps from the next alley over. 

“C’mon,” he said with a lopsided smile. When Zuko stood frozen, Sokka reached down and clasped his hand once again. “Come _on,_ ” he said, pulling him forward. “We can lose him if we go this way.”

Dumbstruck, Zuko followed.

Moonlight illuminated the winding streets and back alleys as they ran through the night, their spirits light as if they weren't in the middle of a war at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just love the idea that despite still being sort of enemies they are both so eager to finally have a peer to relate to that they immediately emotion dump and latch onto any sort of connection. 
> 
> Toph will be back next chapter! She has thoughts. Next up will be an interlude from Sokka's POV.


	5. Interlude: Sokka

Sokka crawled back through the window of their lodging in the Upper Ring and crashed to the floor with a loud thump. _At least I got the room right_ , he thought as he rolled toward his futon.

The screen to the adjacent room slid open to reveal Toph. Of course she woke up.

“Where were you?” she whispered, making her way toward him. 

“Nowhere,” he said, looking to the open screen door behind her. “Hanging out with Lee.”

“In the middle of the night?” 

He shrugged, straightening his blanket and settling onto the futon. “What’s the big deal?” 

“Just wondering why you didn’t invite me, considering he’s _my_ friend.” She put her hands on her hips.

“He can have two friends.”

“But you’ve been an asshole to him!"

“ _I’ve_ been an asshole?!" He cringed at his loud tone and lowered his voice. "Do you know how many times he’s tried to attack us?”

She frowned at him. “If you think he’s such an asshole, why do you want to spend time with him so badly?”

“I don’t—I don’t have to explain myself to you. We didn’t do anything bad. Well, we sorta got a little bit in trouble with a guard, b-but it’s fine.”

“Why were you having fun without me?” She sniffed at him. “And why do you smell weird? And why'd you fall coming in here, you're not usually that clumsy."

He drew a hand down his face. “We were drinking, okay?”

“You guys were drinking alcohol without me?” she sputtered.

“Toph. You’re a baby.”

“Ex- _cuse_ —” 

He threw a hand over her mouth. “Shh!” She bit into his flesh. “Ow!” He pulled his hand away and shook it. “Can’t I go out and have fun with someone my own age for once?”

“You’re not that much older than me," she countered.

“Yeah, well, just because you’re really cool for a twelve year old doesn’t mean you’re not twelve. It would be irresponsible."

"So only you're allowed to be irresponsible?"

Sokka thought for a moment. "That's right."

Toph groaned and crossed her arms. “You guys suck.”

Sokka snorted.

“What’s so funny?”

“You’re like my dad.” He snickered again.

“What?”

“I wanted to get in trouble with my dad and now—N-nevermind.” 

“Ugh, whatever.” In a huff, she made her way back out of the room. Turning back to face him, she said, "This isn't over."

"Yeah, fine, goodnight."

She closed the screen behind her. 

_Ugh._ As he settled into his bed, a woozy feeling tumbled through him. He hadn't thought the alcohol had much affected him, but as he stared at the ceiling swirling before his eyes, he realized that was perhaps an incorrect assumption.

He'd kissed Zuko. The memory was fresh in his mind and he groaned, not ready to confront the weird, complex emotions churning inside him. Well, he'd wanted to do something fun and stupid. Mission accomplished. 

* * *

The next day he woke with a mild headache and a knot in his stomach. Plastering on a cheerful face, he made his way into the main room for breakfast.

"You're up late," Katara commented.

He gave an exaggerated yawn and scratched his back. "Couldn't sleep."

Despite the fact that Toph wasn't looking at him, he felt her attention. He glanced over and read a stony expression on her face. What right did she have to be mad over this?

"Well, have some tea and perk up," Katara said, slapping a stack of papers on the table. "We're hanging up fliers today."

He snatched up one of the posters and saw an accurate, detailed drawing of Appa followed by a description of how to follow up with information on his whereabouts. The task of drawing up the posters had fallen to him, or so he'd thought, but he wasn't going to question getting out of work since he'd sort of forgotten to do it.

"These look good," he said.

Aang was beaming, the first real look of hope he'd seen on the kid in days. "I know! This is sure to get us a lead on Appa."

Sokka wasn't so convinced, but he offered up a smile anyway. "Sure it will, buddy."

The city was huge, and it didn't take long for them to realize it was smart to split up. Since Toph couldn't sense the orientation of the fliers, she trailed behind Sokka. 

"If you want to hang them up yourself, I can fold the corners so you can tell which way to face them," he offered, painting a stripe of paste on the back of a sheet and affixing it to a fence. 

"Nah," Toph replied. "Thanks, though. I can't really tell what places people can see well."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

She kicked at a rock. "You know, I'm not really helping."

"You're not obligated to stay."

"Yeah," she answered. Another rock tumbled across the street. "You know, I think my good friend Lee has the day off."

Sokka sighed. He didn't want to fight about this. "He does. I'm sure he would appreciate some company."

Toph hummed. "You're not going to tell me what you guys did last night?"

He slapped a poster onto the fence and turned to her. "I told you, we were drinking. Why are you mad about this?"

"Because he's my friend!" she steamed. "I've never had a friend before, at least before you all. I finally get a chance to make one but it can't even be _my_ thing, now it's yours and you're leaving me out, and you don't even like him!"

"Well, I've never had a friend before, either!" he sputtered. "Unless you want to count the toddlers in our tribe or Gran Gran." He crossed his arms. "And I do like him," he added more softly.

Toph's stiff stance went slack with surprise. "Whoa. Wait. What do you mean, you 'like' him?" She leaned forward, putting her hand on the earthen fence.

"I—Nothing! Forget it. He's just, like, a friend. Not even that!"

" _Oooh,"_ she said, a slow grin emerging on her face as she removed her hand from the fence. "You _like_ him."

"I…" He huffed out a sigh. "Fine. A little bit. What does it matter?"

"Well, you're the one all bent up about the history between you two. Kinda seems like it matters a lot." 

"Yeah, maybe," he admitted. "Hopefully in a good way. He's still not sure where his allegiances lie. That's good for us."

A look of mild horror crossed Toph's face. "What are you talking about? We're not friends with him because it's tactical! At least _I'm_ not."

"That's not—I'm not saying that's why we should be nice to him! But… okay, maybe it is, actually. The Fire Nation did some really fucked up things to him, but he's still got loyalties. And if we can help him see that—"

Toph took a step back from him. "No! I'm not using him for anything! He's my friend. He doesn't owe us that."

"You—you're misunderstanding me." He took a moment to collect himself, choosing his words carefully. "I think he's a good person, hopefully, who has been through some really awful shit. I just want to help him, and part of that is letting him see how terrible the Fire Nation really is. How much they've hurt him. What he does with that is his own business, but I don't think he would betray us if—"

"I'm not worried about him betraying us," she interjected.

"Well, that's great for you, but betraying us is literally his only ticket back home to see his family again. It’d be stupid to think he wouldn’t consider it."

Toph's voice was more timid as she asked, "What do you mean?"

It wasn't Sokka's story to tell, but he gave the barest amount of information he could to get the point across and told Toph to ask Zuko herself if she wanted details.

"I still think you're being weirdly tactical about this." _If only._ Making out with him was definitely not a tactical move but one motivated solely by impulse and stupidity. 

"I'm just being practical," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Toph relaxed her clenched fists. "Fine," she said. "But he's still my friend first. I'm gonna go find him."

"Yeah, okay," he said. "Have fun while we're out doing the hard work."

She was already heading down the street, throwing up her hand as she departed. "I will!"

* * *

On his own, Sokka had way too much time to think as he continued plastering the Middle Ring with posters. It was true, what he'd told Toph; befriending Zuko was, in some ways, tactical. At first, he'd gotten involved out of a need to protect Toph and figure out what Zuko and his uncle might be plotting. When it became clear the answer was nothing, continuing to hang out was more practical. Zuko was having doubts about the Fire Nation, and maybe being shown some kindness and understanding could help turn him around.

The problem was he'd never expected to actually _like_ him. Finding out he was awkwardly charming, weirdly funny even when he didn't mean to be, and just simply nice—if bristly around the edges—was not something Sokka had considered as a possibility. Perhaps he should have, given Toph had so easily befriended him, but at the time he'd been too clouded by worry to give it a thought.

Now it was all he could think about. There was an uncomfortable feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach at how quickly his opinion had shifted. Zuko was Fire Nation. He'd invaded his home, and he'd burned down Suki's village. He was the prince, even if banished. The story he'd told of his banishment and the terms set by his father gave all of his actions a new and sympathetic context, but he'd still done it. He'd apologized, but… he'd still done it.

Sokka was desperate for a second opinion on the matter, but the only person who could possibly understand was Katara. A laugh bubbled out of him at the thought of explaining to his sister that he'd kissed Zuko. On the lips and on purpose. And he kinda wanted to do it again. _Shit._ Did that make him a horrible person?

These thoughts plagued him as he posted the rest of the fliers, unable to focus too hard on whether he was placing him in the most visible locations. Aang was flying around dumping huge stacks of them, anyway; his efforts were minuscule in comparison.

When he got back to the house, Katara was the only one home.

"Finished already?" he asked, grabbing some dried fruit from the cupboard and taking a seat next to her.

"I covered half the Upper Ring," Katara said, "But I ran out of fliers." She surveyed the room. "Where's Toph?"

"Oh," Sokka said, tearing through a dried mango with his teeth. "She's with her friend in the Lower Ring."

"Right," Katara grumbled. "Your _mystery friend_."

She and Aang knew the basics that Toph had a friend she wouldn't introduce to them and that Sokka had met him by accident (well, Katara had run with the assumption that it was a 'her' and neither had corrected her).

"They're just hanging out," Sokka said.

"We've got important business to do. She shouldn't be 'hanging out.'"

Sokka leaned forward on his elbows. "Look, I'm as invested in moving forward as anyone, but we don't have any leads. It's not like we have much to do that's productive around here. It’s not like she can really help with the posters." Secretly, he wondered if Katara was jealous, that Toph had made a friend and not her.

"I guess," Katara said, reaching for one of his dried mangos. "What's this friend like, anyway?"

Sokka shrugged. "Pretty awkward, honestly. I don't know that Toph isn't just happy to have someone to bully."

Katara frowned. "That doesn't sound very nice."

He waved her off. "Don't worry about it, the friendship is good for both of them."

"If you say so. Does she have any other qualities besides awkward?"

"Yeah," he said, reflecting on what a different perspective he had on Zuko now. "Funny but without meaning to be. And kind-hearted, but in that way where someone doesn't want you to know they genuinely care and have feelings, you know? And, uh, smart but sorta stupid about it?" He trailed off, grinning without realizing it.

"You have a crush," she said, eyebrows raised.

Spirits, was he really that obvious? "What?"

"I guess I'm not surprised. You've found someone to crush on basically everywhere we've been so far."

"I don't—" he sputtered. "Okay, maybe a little one. But nothing's going to happen. He's got a lot of—"

"Sorry, ' _he_?'"

Whoops. "Uh…" he stuttered. "Yeah. You assumed that it was a girl and Toph didn't correct you, but it's, um, not."

"Oh," Katara said, eyes wide. "I didn't know you liked boys."

Why wouldn't he like boys? He knew that men eventually married women so they could have children, but women with women and men with men weren't exactly uncommon in the Southern Water Tribe. What else were people supposed to do when they were separated by war?

"Yeah?" he said, a bit unsure. "Why, does that surprise you?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. You've never shown interest in boys before and you go loony around girls. It's kind of embarrassing."

"Well, what boys do I even know to show interest in? Sorry, but Aang's a bit young for me. And Jet's not my type."

She hit him in the arm. "He's not mine, either!” she scoffed. “It's not my fault I didn't know he was an asshole. But he's, you know"—she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear—"cute."

Sokka pulled a face. "He's not cute. He's got weird eyebrows."

"Who cares about his eyebrows?" He gave her a pointed look. "Fine, what about Haru?"

The thought of Haru like that had never crossed his mind. "I guess he's okay," he said, trying to remember what Haru even looked like. "Kind of boring, though. Like, what's interesting about him?" 

"Good point," she said, chewing on a mango. "Teo?"

"He's like the same age as Aang!"

She hummed, thinking. "Are those really the only boys we know? Well, I guess there's Zuko." She started to giggle. "Can you imagine? You and Zuko?" Her laughter grew louder, apparently delighted by her own joke.

Sokka let out an awkward chuckle. "Sure, Katara." But he couldn't let the opening slide. He wanted her real opinion on the idea and here was the chance to get it. "I mean…" he started hesitantly, "Would it be that crazy?"

She stared at him like he'd sprouted a third eye. "Uh, yeah. It would be that crazy." She laughed again, popping a dried cherry into her mouth and shaking her head.

"I'm serious," he pressed. This was a stupid line of questioning, but he couldn't help himself. "He helped us fight Azula last time we saw him, and he didn't even try to pursue us after. I'm not saying he would ever, like, switch sides, but… what if he did, you know?"

"That's a nice thought, but I doubt it would ever happen. He only fought Azula because he wanted to capture Aang himself, and he didn't pursue us because his uncle was hurt." She paused to consider. "I guess that means he has a heart. But how many times has he chased us? He's not 'switching sides.'"

"You're right," he said. "It's just, you know, a hypothetical. If he _did_. Do you think you could forgive him?"

She shrugged. "It'd be stupid not to. Getting the prince of the Fire Nation on our side could only help us take down the Firelord."

"But that's not what I'm asking." He really should shut up. "Could you _forgive_ him? Like, emotionally?"

This gave Katara pause. "I think so," she said seriously. "But wasn't this a question about dating him?" She giggled. "Maybe a proper smooch could turn him to the good side. He did look kind of cute with the short hair." She had a dreamy sort of look in her eye, as if she was actually considering it.

"Gross," he said, flicking a cherry at her. 

"Hey!" she said, picking it up and chucking it back at him. "You asked. And maybe I don't think it's such a crazy idea, after all." 

It was a mistake to bring this up, and he wasn't sure her input provided any sort of clarity. If they could only speak in hypotheticals he wasn't going to get a genuine answer from her, but he at least felt bolstered that maybe she wouldn't hate him for this. If it went anywhere. Which it probably wouldn't. They weren't staying in the city long, and even if Zuko might not be actively trying to hunt them down anymore, that didn't mean he was switching sides. Which was fine. Staying out of the war was good enough.

* * *

That evening, Sokka found himself in his room, reading through a few books he’d picked up about the geography and politics of the Earth Kingdom. Of course, none of it mentioned the Dai Li, so he couldn’t be sure of its accuracy, but it was something. He still had no idea how they were supposed to talk to the Earth King about the threat, and they were running out of time. If he wasn’t the one to come up with a plan, then who? 

He mulled over these thoughts while skimming over a map of the city when Toph barged into his room.

"We're getting Appa back,” she announced.

"That is the plan, yeah.” He picked at his fingernails. “Loving the optimism, Toph.”

"No, idiot. I mean _we_ : you, me, and Lee. I told him about the posters and he thinks the Dai Li have him."

Oh. That made a lot of sense, actually, given the Dai Li seemed to want control over everything they did in the city. Why hadn't he thought of that?

"He seriously agreed to help us?"

"Yeah," Toph said, as if there was nothing earth-shattering about the concept. “We can talk about it tomorrow. There’s a play showing in the Middle Ring he wants to see. I bought the tickets with the rest of my tournament winnings.”

“I don’t get why you’re going to plays, you don’t even like theater,” Sokka said.

“I think it’s dumb, but I like making fun of it. Lee’s hilarious about it, he gets so worked up. You’ll see.”

“Oh, I’m invited this time?”

“Yeah, I got you a ticket,” she said with a sigh. “Seeing as you’re, like, boyfriends now.”

“What?! We’re not boyfriends!” 

“That’s what he said, too,” she said. “But I know you made out or whatever.”

Sokka tilted his head back. Why was his business suddenly everyone’s business? He didn’t even mean to have a crush on Zuko, the whole thing was spiraling out of proportion now that both Toph and Katara knew about it. It was one kiss. “Believe what you want to believe,” he said flippantly.

“I prefer not to think about it, actually.” She softened. “Um, but you should talk to him. He’s pretty worried about how his uncle would react if he found out.”

Sokka furrowed his brow. “Why? Because I’m Water Tribe?”

“No,” she said with a frown. “Because you’re a boy. I guess that sort of thing is illegal in the Fire Nation.”

“What? Why? That doesn’t make any sense, why would they have laws about what people do in private?”

She threw her hands up. “Don’t ask me! Doesn’t the Water Tribe care about that stuff? You said your girlfriend was in an arranged marriage.” 

“Yeah,” he said. “But she wouldn’t have gone to jail or anything if she broke it off and was with someone else.” He paused. “Well, actually I don’t know… The Northern Water Tribe has different customs than us. I guess I never really thought about what would happen if she did that.” 

“Well, maybe you should have. Kind of selfish not to since you were dating her. Which is why you should be concerned about Lee. He was all worked up over it and his uncle’s the only family he has left.”

Sokka rubbed his temple. This was not something he wanted to worry about, even if Toph was right that he was now partially responsible. Maybe mostly responsible. Ugh.

"I'm not dating Zuko, I've barely started to like him. But fine, you have a point. I didn’t know and I’ll… talk to him, I guess.” 

“Cool.” She hopped up from her seat. “And do it soon. I don’t want you guys being weird at the play tomorrow.” 

“Fine, yeah. I’ll go see him tomorrow morning. Is he working?”

Toph confirmed that he was and Sokka agreed to go and see him. Spirits, what was he even supposed to say? He was such an idiot, and he only had himself to blame for making things complicated.

If he could talk Zuko down from whatever crisis he was having, maybe they could just forget the kiss and move on. He was kind of terrified of the possibility that Zuko might not want to forget it—what would that even mean? 

Well. He would find out tomorrow. 


	6. Chapter 6

Zuko stared at the floor of the tea shop as he swept and wondered what he was doing with his life. Thinking things through was not his strong suit, but the consequences of his actions were typically immediate. The strange limbo he now found himself in was untenable, and he found himself in a near constant state of anxious anticipation. He’d agreed to help find the Avatar’s bison. He’d kissed a boy, an enemy of the Fire Nation. What was he thinking?

Clouds of dust swirled up from his broom, and he watched them dissipate in a beam of sunlight with a sigh. What could he do but move forward? 

The morning passed slowly, and Zuko had a hard time focusing on his work. His mind was tuned out to his surroundings as he bussed tables until he heard his uncle address him.

“Do you hear that nephew?," Uncle asked. "Our own tea shop!"

A nobleman then turned to him and then said, "Your life is about to change for the better."

"Sorry?" Zuko asked, unsure what exactly this man was proposing.

"I've just offered you and your uncle a tea shop and your own apartment in the Upper Ring," the man announced. "And he's accepted." Uncle nodded graciously.

"That's a very kind offer." It was a lot to process, is what it was. "I'm going to take my break."

He bowed and exited the shop, taking a breath and trying to steady himself as soon as he emerged outside. Life was moving forward so quickly, was he really going to commit to Ba Sing Se? For a few minutes, he simply closed his eyes and breathed, hoping to at least calm himself enough to make it through the rest of his shift.

"Hey," came a familiar voice, startling Zuko out of his reveries.

"Hi," he said, looking up to see Sokka's bright face.

"Hi," Sokka repeated, scratching the back of his head and looking uncharacteristically nervous. "Do you have your lunch break soon? I was thinking I could grab us some food from the market and eat it at your apartment."

"Oh," Zuko replied, staring at him.

Sokka waited a beat. "Is that okay with you?"

He cleared his throat and quickly nodded. "Yeah. That's nice of you. I can get off in an hour."

Sokka smiled at him. "Do you want anything specific?"

He shook his head and told him that anything would be fine, agreeing to meet him back at the apartment. It was too overwhelming to imagine what Sokka wanted, so he tried not to think about it as he worked the remaining time away. When his lunch break approached, he told his uncle that he would be leaving to eat with Sokka.

"He is a nice young man," Iroh said as he carefully measured out tea leaves. 

Zuko removed his apron. "Yeah, he's fine."

"And he seems quite fond of you."

As usual, Zuko didn’t know what his uncle was getting at. “I guess,” he said, hanging the apron on its hook. “I’m taking my lunch.”

“Enjoy your lunch and your company,” Iroh said, waving him off.

A ball of nerves churned in his stomach as he made his way back to the apartment. He had no idea what Sokka wanted with him and every possibility that crossed his mind was more anxiety-inducing than the last. Steeling himself, he walked up to greet him outside the apartment and lead him inside.

“Hey, so Toph said I should talk to you.”

“Oh,” Zuko replied. He was here because of Toph? Spirits, he’d said some embarrassing stuff to her yesterday. She had caught him off guard; it was too hard to keep things from her with her weird lie-detecting abilities and lack of tact. “Why?” he asked, heart rate increasing. “What did she say?”

Sokka looked nervous. “She said your uncle might be mad if he found out about…” He trailed off, making a round gesture with his hand. 

Zuko stiffened. “Of course he would,” he said, crossing his arms. “I’m not going to tell him about it, obviously.”

Sokka thought about this for a moment and frowned. “But your uncle loves you.” _Maybe now_ , thought Zuko, _but not if he knew about this_. Sokka continued, “What if I talked to him?”

“What?” Zuko sputtered, eyes wide. “No, no, no, please don’t do that.”

“I don’t have to tell him about you! I could, like, suggest I was interested or something. See what he thought about it.”

“Please, I’m begging you, don’t do that.”

Sokka put his hands up. “Okay, okay.”

Zuko ran a hand across his face and muttered, ”I can’t deal with this.”

“Then don’t,” he said. “I didn’t mean to freak you out. I just thought since I was sort of responsible that I should check in or whatever? And tell you that you don’t have to worry. I won’t say anything to anyone if you’re worried about it. We can just forget it happened.” 

Zuko drew in a breath. “Thanks.” He would never be able to forget it, but he could certainly repress and ignore it.

Sokka let the topic go and offered him dumplings from the market. It was a kind gesture, and the food was probably good, but Zuko was too distracted to taste it. 

“So, are you really going to help us find Appa?” Sokka asked.

When Toph had mentioned it yesterday, the idea of breaking out a giant animal from wherever the Dai Li were presumably hiding it had seemed exciting. The fact that said animal was the Avatar’s bison carried implications he only now considered. It wouldn’t be betraying the Fire Nation, exactly, to do this, and he wondered if that even mattered anymore. When he envisioned himself rejoining the war, it was harder and harder to imagine himself aligned with his father.

“A large animal like that shouldn’t be caged,” Zuko reasoned, though that was not why he wanted to get involved. Maybe he should just be honest. “It's something to do."

Sokka barked out a laugh. "You want to help us because you're bored?"

He crossed his arms. "Is that not a good enough reason?"

"No, it's fine," Sokka replied, shaking his head. "I'm glad to have any help we can get."

"It has to be just you and Toph," Zuko clarified. "Any more is a liability." That wasn't the reason Zuko preferred to keep the team small, and he guessed Sokka knew that.

"Sure," he agreed easily. "So what's your plan?"

"From what Toph said, I think the Dai Li most likely have your bison. I don't know that much about them other than they basically control the city. It would make sense that they would want to have some kind of leverage over the Avatar, though I don't know to what end. But if anyone has the resources to hide a huge air bison in the city, it's them."

Sokka nodded. "That makes sense. I've wondered the same thing, but it's not much of a lead. What can we do about it? The Dai Li's too powerful."

"We need to capture and interrogate one of their agents," Zuko said. That part seemed easy enough.

"But then what? They're watching our every move, not to mention providing our housing. They can't know we suspect them of this."

Zuko walked to a drawer and pulled out his Blue Spirit mask. "So we won't go as ourselves," he said, raising the mask to his face.

"Maybe we should leave that part to you," Sokka said, smiling a little. "If you were able to infiltrate Zhao's encampment, I'll concede you're probably better at stealth than me or Toph."

Zuko set the mask down on the cabinet, unsure how to take the compliment. "We can't plan anything else until we find out more. I can do it tonight, after the play."

Sokka agreed, and there wasn't much more room for conversation as Zuko quickly finished his food to return to work. 

The afternoon continued to drag on as Zuko anticipated the play that evening and worried over the plan to get the Avatar’s bison. He’d never involved others in a scheme before; how would he feel if he put them in danger? He tried to reason that they were taking on their own risk and that they would find their own way to rescue the bison one way or another. They were fighting a war.

He shook his head and continued sweeping the floor. 

* * *

The theater in the Middle Ring was much grander than the one he had attended with Toph. It stood proudly at the end of the street with a small courtyard in front, within which milled an array of finely dressed patrons. His own clothes felt drab in comparison, obviously marking him as lower class. It reminded him of how he had felt in the restaurant—unsure how to place himself between his royal upbringing and his life now.

"Teaboy!" Toph called out, and he broke out into a grin as he saw his friends approaching.

"Hey," he greeted, feeling more at ease than he had all day despite the uncertainty he still felt around Sokka. 

"So, what's this play about?" Toph asked. She couldn't read the show bill, so Zuko gave her as exhaustive a rundown of the plot as he could from what he had gleaned from the advertisements, as well as what he knew about the playwright. After attending the Stellar Theater shows, he had researched a bit about theater in the Earth Kingdom and was surprised to find it had as much, if not more depth than in the Fire Nation.

When he finished his explanation, Sokka said with mild surprise, "So you're, like, actually super into theater." Defensiveness must have read on Zuko's face, because he quickly amended, "Not that it's a bad thing. It's cool."

Zuko had no response to that and gestured them toward the theater.

The play was a welcome distraction. The costumes, the set decorations, the effects, not to mention the performances—it was all stunning. He had notes about some of the directorial choices and a few of the actors weren't up to caliber, but he was tempted to rank it among the top plays he'd attended in Caldera City. He told his friends as much, unable to stop gushing and voicing his opinions as they gathered food from the market after the show and brought it to a plaza to eat.

When he noticed a bemused expression on Sokka's face, he finally stopped himself. "I'm talking too much, aren't I?"

"You are talking a lot," Toph agreed, taking a bite out of a chunk of meat. "But it's funny that you care so much. It's not like your opinions are wrong, either." 

"I like it," Sokka added. "I'd be happy to contribute more to the conversation, but I don't have any points of comparison. The effects were awesome, though."

A frisson of warmth rippled through him, and for a moment, things felt clear. Here were friends who liked listening to him even when he spoke of interests that they didn't share. There was no shame or censure, only acceptance. Why wouldn't he want to keep that now that he had it?

Except this was all temporary. The Avatar couldn't be staying in Ba Sing Se forever. Was Zuko?

"There is something else I wanted to mention," he said, proceeding to explain the offer Uncle had received to establish his own tea shop. 

"So you're staying in Ba Sing Se?" Toph asked when he was finished. "That sucks."

Zuko shrugged. "It's Uncle's dream to have his own tea shop," he said and then swallowed. "I'm happy for him."

"Are you happy for you, though?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's not like you have to stay with him. I left my parents. You could come with us!"

The bluntness of her offer caught him off guard and he found himself at a loss for words.

"Aang does need a firebending teacher," Sokka added. "But no pressure! I know it's kind of a leap to go from staying out of the war to fighting the Fire Nation."

"Yeah," Zuko tried to agree, but he wasn't sure if he did. His father didn't represent all of the Fire Nation. Maybe fighting him was the right thing for his people.

"Well, the offer's open," Toph said, wiping meat juice from her mouth with her sleeve. 

"What about the Avatar?" Zuko asked. It couldn't really be that simple, could it? 

"Aang's cool," Sokka said. "He's all about forgiving people and finding the good in them and blah blah blah. I bet he'd be thrilled to have you on our side. My sister, too." After a beat, he added, "But let's focus on one thing at a time. How do we get Appa back?"

* * *

After the sun had set, Zuko found himself on a roof with Toph and Sokka tracking a Dai Li agent on patrol. He was wearing his Blue Spirit mask and had even crafted a fake to create a ruse to fool one of the agents.

"You really think this mannequin idea is gonna work?" Sokka asked, eyeing the fake mask skeptically.

"It'll work," Zuko assured, grabbing the mask and affixing it onto the makeshift dummy he'd crafted. "It only needs to fool him for a second." 

"I think it looks great," Toph said, slapping him on the shoulder. He rolled his eyes.

The sound of footsteps sounded below them just a block over. "He's coming this way," Zuko whispered, grabbing the dummy. "It's now or never." 

He dropped down into the alley below and placed the dummy, then looked up to Sokka who signaled which way the agent was headed. Zuko trailed him, light on his feet and running past him with a shove and a taunt before disappearing down the alley. The agent took the bait, violently attacking the dummy and leaving his back exposed as Zuko snuck up behind him and pulled a sword to his throat.

"If you don't want to end up like him," Zuko threatened, facing the agent toward the now beheaded dummy, "You'll do what I say."

The agent was quick to talk and had the information Zuko needed. He let it slip that the Dai Li were apparently brainwashing people, too. Zuko let him go with a threat that he knew where he lived and would kill him if he did anything to get the bison moved. It was empty, but it seemed to do the job.

He climbed back up on the roof once the agent was free to discuss their next moves.

"Uh, wow," Sokka said, staring at Zuko as he removed his mask and shook out his hair. "That was impressive."

"Sokka gave me the play-by-play," Toph said. "I can't believe that agent was going to kill you just for pushing him."

"Makes me feel a little better about threatening him."

"Seriously, dude," Sokka continued. "Have you always been this competent?" Zuko furrowed his brow. "It's just that you never seemed that great at fighting us."

Zuko's scowl deepened. "What do you mean?"

"You never so much as singed us," Sokka explained. "Plus you kept failing to capture Aang. I always assumed you kind of sucked at fighting and stuff."

"I don't suck at fighting," Zuko countered, cleaning off the mask with his shirt. "I'm not a bending prodigy like my sister but I know how to fight. I didn't injure you on purpose. I already told you that." He tucked the mask in his bag. "Do you want to hear what he had to say or not?"

They did, and Zuko proceeded to explain everything he'd learned. The Dai Li did have the bison and were keeping him in an underground compound beneath Lake Laogai.

"They're brainwashing people there, too," Zuko added. "I guess that explains why nobody here believes in the war. I don't know how they're doing it, but that makes getting caught an even greater risk."

"What do you mean 'brainwashing?'" Toph asked.

"That must be what they did to Joo Dee," Sokka said, his hand drawn to his chin. "Anyone who steps out of line gets reprogrammed to do what the Dai Li wants."

Zuko nodded. The fact that they had the ability to do something like that was terrifying and he was glad that the Fire Nation did not have access to that kind of manipulation as far as he knew. 

"That's super messed up," Toph said. "So all right, we can't get caught. If it's underground, I should be able to find or make us an entrance. You know where Appa is?"

"I think so," Zuko replied. "He gave me a rough idea." He pulled a scrap of paper from his bag and began to sketch the layout from what the agent had told him. "What I don't know is how we get him out once we find him."

"Appa hates going in tunnels or underground," Sokka said, evaluating the map. "They wouldn't be able to get him very far that way. I bet there's some sort of hatch in the room. He would be less panicked if he could see the sky, too."

"That seems a bit too convenient, but I guess we can hope," Zuko said. 

"So we go tomorrow?" Toph asked. "The sooner the better, right?"

They were really going to do this. "I guess so."

"We need a plan for what happens once we get him out," Sokka said. "The Dai Li are going to be onto us as soon as Appa's free even if they don't know who did it. Who knows what they might do? It won't be safe to keep staying in the Upper Ring."

"Does that mean we can finally ditch this city?" Toph asked hopefully.

Zuko's chest felt tight. This would change everything. He always knew it would, but he wasn't sure he was ready for it to happen right now. He'd just made friends and now they would be leaving him.

"We still need to talk to the Earth King," Sokka said. "This might make it even more difficult. Not that we were making much progress on that front."

"You need to talk to the Earth King?" Zuko asked. "He's just a figurehead."

Sokka seemed to hesitate. "We have information he needs to know about the war."

"Oh," Zuko replied, deflating. Of course they wouldn't tell him. He was still technically the enemy.

"That's why we're in the city at all," Sokka explained. "That and Appa. But the Dai Li is making it impossible for us to talk to him. The Earth King doesn't even know there's a war, but we need troops, and the Dai Li won’t help us."

"You came here to ask for military reinforcements?" Zuko asked. He shouldn't be pressing this.

"Not only that," Sokka said slowly, a hesitant expression on his face. "Do you really want to know?"

Zuko frowned. "I guess not."

"Sokka's right, though," Toph interjected. "This will change things. I say we just storm the palace once we get Appa. It's not like we have any better ideas."

"Are you nuts?" Zuko asked, incredulous. "I know you're powerful benders, but the palace has hundreds of guards and reinforcements. It'd be way easier to sneak in."

Sokka scoffed. "Easier for you, maybe. I don't know if you've noticed, but infiltration isn't exactly in our skill set." 

Zuko bit his lip. "I guess we should just focus on the bison for now, anyway."

"He has a name, you know," Toph said. "It's Appa."

It felt wrong for him to call him that, but Zuko nodded anyway.

"If we free Appa, Aang will find him," Sokka suggested. "We can time it to when he'll be searching."

"Then what?" Toph asked.

"Then we find Aang and Katara and come up with a plan. They need to be a part of the discussion at some point." 

And Zuko would be out of it. He tried not to let disappointment show on his face. "The Dai Li's probably not going to care much about the Avatar once he leaves the city," he said. "You wouldn't have to get far outside the walls for them to stop tracking you." 

Sokka nodded. "You're right. We'll regroup outside the walls and figure out our next step. If all else fails, we can always fly into the city and storm the palace."

Zuko hoped for his friends’ sake they would find a better option, but it was a plan for now. The remaining logistical question was what to do if they got caught. Zuko was adamant that the Avatar and Sokka’s sister not get involved at this point, which only left his uncle as a failsafe if things went south.

“Are you just going to tell him?” Sokka asked.

“Will he try to stop you?” Toph added.

“I’ll tell him I’m not feeling well tomorrow afternoon to get off work,” Zuko said. “He might be suspicious, but he probably won’t follow me. I can leave a note at home or something that he won’t find until he’s off. That should give us enough time.”

There were a hundred things that could go wrong with the plan, but that had never stopped Zuko before. This time it wasn’t just him making decisions, either. Toph was a wildcard, but Sokka seemed to think things through. Having other people involved meant he was less in control, but it also meant less responsibility. They were sharing the burden and the risk, after Uncle had been his only ally for so long.

Things were changing whether Zuko liked it or not. He only hoped he could come out the other side proud of his actions.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I haven't updated in an age, real life intervened but I do plan to finish it. Thank you all who have stuck with this story <3


	7. Chapter 7

Working with other people who weren’t simply crew members to order around was a new experience for Zuko. Toph and Sokka had opinions about what they should be doing that they didn’t hesitate to share. When the three of them arrived at Lake Laogai and tried to devise a way into the compound below, it felt combative, as if they doubted his competence. He was the one who had obtained the information from the agent. Who were they to question his plan?

“I can feel that there are no people below us right here, and it’s definitely a big tunnel that leads to the main compound under the lake,” Toph said, her foot planted firmly on the ground as she perceived the ground below. “We just tunnel in. Easy.”

“But we won’t know where we are,” Zuko argued. “And it’ll be loud. The Dai Li agent described how to get to the chamber based on using the west entrance. If we go any other way, we’ll get lost.”

“But we already checked over there and it’s crawling with people," Toph countered. “What, you want to get immediately attacked? A little brainwashing sound fun to you?”

Zuko said nothing, crossing his arms and casting his gaze toward the lake. 

“We have a pretty good idea of where to go if we enter here,” Sokka said. He had a stick and was sketching something in the dirt. “Based on the schematic we made last night, it’ll be two halls down to the right after the first one. Toph will be able to sense Appa as long as he’s not flying, so we don’t even need to know how many doors to pass.” The sound of stick scratching earth continued. “Zuko, come on. Look.”

He scowled at the lake once more and then scooted over to peer at where Sokka was indicating.

“You see?” He drew a path from where they were to Appa. “It shouldn’t be much farther than going from the west entrance, and Toph already said it’s virtually empty this way. We can keep to this wall so we can find our way back if we get lost or run into trouble.”

Looking at the diagram, he had to admit it wasn’t a bad plan. “Fine,” he said petulantly.

“What’s your deal?” Sokka asked with irritation.

“What do you mean?”

“We need to be on the same page here. We can’t keep arguing. I don’t think it’s a good idea to do this if we can’t trust each other.”

“You’re the ones who don’t trust me!” He turned away, tears burning in his eyes. He would not cry—spirits, that would be embarrassing.

“Of course we trust you,” Sokka said, the annoyance in his tone replaced with confusion. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t. Sometimes I question whether I'm being completely stupid by trusting you right now, but I do. Just because we think going in a different way is a smarter option doesn't change that. Toph is the only one of us who can see what’s going on down there; we’re the ones that need to trust her.”

Zuko was barely listening, instead looking up to a ridge on the outside of the lake. “Wait a minute. We should go up on that ridge and look over the lake. If there is a hatch above Appa’s cell like you said, we should be able to see it, right?”

“I already looked on the way over here,” Sokka said, sounding irritated by the abrupt change in subject. “The lake’s huge; it’s too far to see.” 

Zuko scrounged through his bag and pulled out a spyglass. “You might have mentioned,” he said, tossing it to Sokka who scrambled to grab it.

Sokka looked like he wanted to say more, but instead pulled his mouth into a thin line and turned on his heel to walk toward the ridge.

“I guess I’ll stay here?” Toph said, drumming her fingers on a nearby rock.

“We’ll be back,” he said before trailing behind Sokka.

As they climbed in silence, Zuko had to admit that Sokka was right. Bickering wasn’t going to help them in a high stakes situation. They had to be smart about this, and Toph and Sokka’s plan really _was_ smarter than his. Should he apologize? Is that what people did in situations like this?

When they reached the top of the ridge, they took a short moment to catch their breaths. Sokka pulled the spyglass up to his eye and scouted the lake.

"It would be in the southwest quadrant, I think, based on the map," he said. "I don't—wait, is that it?"

He handed Zuko the spyglass and pointed. "That little dot. Do you see it?"

Zuko pulled the spyglass up to his good eye and tried to find where Sokka was pointing. It did look like a hatch of some sort extending just above the water, but the spyglass wasn't strong enough to tell if there was any sort of grate obstructing it.

"If that's it, your plan is good," Zuko admitted, feeling deflated. "It's right where you thought it'd be."

"Zuko," Sokka said, placing a hand on his shoulder and making Zuko face him. "It's our plan. All of us. We're not, like, turning against you."

Zuko bit his lip and briefly met Sokka's gaze. "I guess I'm used to giving orders. Insubordination is not exactly tolerated in the Fire Nation."

"Well, you're not giving orders now," Sokka said, giving his shoulder a squeeze that bordered on aggressive. "We're a team, okay? You need to take our opinions into consideration, and we'll do the same for you. You may be a prince, or ex-prince or whatever, but we're equals."

Zuko nodded, staring at the ground. "You're right.” He let out a breath. “I'm sorry. I do respect your opinions. You're smart and you know what you're doing. I've always thought that, even, "—he hesitated—"before."

"Okay," Sokka said. "And thanks." He removed his hand from Zuko's shoulder and looked out over the lake. "I wanted to say—in case things go bad or something—that I, uh, care about you." He rubbed his arm sheepishly. "I know that things will change after this. You've got your uncle's tea shop and we need to get out of Ba Sing Se sooner rather than later and finish this war. But I hope someday we can, you know, be friends again."

A shiver ran through Zuko's body. "Yeah," he agreed, not sure what else to say.

Heavy silence settled in as they both looked over the lake. After a moment, Sokka reached out his hand. Zuko took it and gave a squeeze, his heart racing as he considered what the future might bring.

* * *

"Took you long enough," Toph said as they approached back down the ridge again. She was bending chunks of earth and chucking them into a nearby tree. "Are you holding hands? Ugh, gross. Let's just do this." 

Sokka dropped Zuko's hand to grab his stick and evaluate the sketch of the compound again, muttering to himself. He took a step back and gestured Zuko forward.

"Based on what we saw up there, this hallway must be pretty long," Sokka said, tracing it with the stick.

"It is long," Toph said. "I already told you. I can't see the whole compound, but I can see a lot of it. Can we get going already?" 

Sokka shrugged and looked at Zuko. "Now or never, right?"

Zuko pulled the Blue Spirit mask over his head and indicated for Sokka and Toph to do the same with the makeshift masks he’d crafted them. As soon as Toph’s mask was secure, she bent a large hole in the earth with a staircase down. "Now or never!"

Sokka and Zuko followed, emerging into a dark, seemingly endless tunnel. Toph bent the earth back up behind them, concealing their entrance and trapping them in darkness.

"I don't get the point of this tunnel," Sokka said, holding Zuko's hand again. "Toph, stop fidgeting, we need to hold hands. You're the only one who can see."

She groaned and Zuko heard the slap of skin on skin. "It's a failsafe in case the main compound floods,” she explained. “I can’t tell where it dumps out, though. It feels like a field, but there’s way too much water for that, so who knows?" She focused for a moment. "It's a long walk. When it opens to another tunnel, take a right, pass another hallway, then a left."

Sokka interrupted to say, "It should be—" 

"Who can see here?"

"Okay. You're right. We'll follow your lead."

The walk down the tunnel felt endless until finally a dim light appeared at the end.

"We should try to keep quiet," Sokka said in a hushed voice. "Can you detect anyone yet?"

"Yeah," Toph replied, proceeding to describe the general layout of the compound and what she could sense in each space. "Keep close and I'll lead us to Appa." She paused, focusing again. "I think he's chained down, but there is a hatch above. I don't sense anyone in that room, at least on the ground."

"If you sense anyone too close, squeeze my hand twice. I'll squeeze Zuko's."

"We don't need to hold hands once we're in the main compound," Zuko pointed out. "We can see there are lights."

"Aw," Sokka said, bumping his shoulder. "You sure you don't want to hold my hand?"

Toph groaned and they continued down the tunnel, eventually popping out in a corridor lined with dim lights. The sound of distant footsteps echoed through the halls.

"Two people down the left corridor headed this way," Toph whispered. "Take a right."

Zuko snuck ahead, glancing through his mask around the corner. He gestured Sokka toward him and Toph followed. They hurried down the corridor until Zuko felt a tug at his shirt.

"There's an agent up ahead," Toph whispered. "They'll cut us off before we can take the next turn."

Zuko looked down the corridor and met Sokka's eye, realizing he'd come to the same conclusion. There was nowhere to hide. He held out a hand for Sokka and Toph not to follow as he launched himself forward and around the corner, catching the agent by surprise and knocking him out from behind before he could sound the alarm. 

He hurried back and gestured his friends forward. "Nice," Toph whispered, punching him in the arm.

Sokka's eyes went wide as he saw the passed out guard on the floor, tiptoeing around his limp form.

Toph took the lead again and headed them down another corridor. They were about to take another turn when she threw up an arm to stop them. "Three agents." She focused for a moment and then brought her hand to her fist. "We can take them."

"That'll draw too much attention," Sokka said in a hushed tone.

"Who's there?" came a voice from around the corner as footsteps approached. "This section is under Patrol Two's supervision."

"Looks like we don't have a choice," Zuko said, drawing his swords from his back. Sokka reluctantly drew his boomerang and Toph readied her stance.

Seconds later, the agents rounded the corner. Before Zuko had a chance to act, Toph raised the earth beneath their feet to trip them and whipped rocks into handcuffs around their wrists as they fell.

One cried out, "Help!" as he hit the ground, seconds before Toph wrapped rock around his head to muffle him.

"Shit," Sokka said, turning as the thump of footsteps sounded toward them from two directions.

"Let's just get to Appa," Zuko said, already dashing away. "Come on."

"Heads up," Toph said. "Two more." 

Two agents emerged from behind a door and began hurling earth at them. Zuko deftly dodged between the rocks and threw himself down the corridor, flipping over one of the agents and then tripping him with a sweep of his foot.

"Next door!" Toph called out. 

Zuko headed to the door, shoving it open to reveal the bison chained to the floor. Shit, this was going to take time.

He poked his head back into the corridor to see Toph incapacitating the two new agents as Sokka hit another one in the head with his boomerang.

"He's chained, we need keys," Zuko cried.

"On it," Sokka replied, eyeing a keyring on one of the downed agents and scooping it into his hand before stepping over them toward Zuko.

"You uncuff him," Zuko instructed as he pulled him into the room. "I'll take the agents."

Sokka gave a curt nod and set to work as Zuko hurried out to help Toph. She was making quick work of the agents, but he could tell she was getting overwhelmed by their numbers as they kept pouring in from multiple directions. Blades drawn, he joined the fray, but it was difficult to navigate between the pillars of earth flying around in multiple directions in such a small space.

"Come with me," he said. "Let's help Sokka."

They managed to hold off the agents long enough to get in the room, and Toph threw up another wall of earth behind them to buy them time.

"How's it going?" she asked Sokka.

"The cuffs are clunky," he said, sounding tense. "I've only got two off, I need more time."

The wall Toph had constructed split down the middle and spread open as new agents began pouring into the room, shouting at them to cease. They were running out of time. Zuko stormed them as best he could with his blades, but he couldn't hold them off forever. Toph was making good progress knocking them out until one of them trapped her feet in earth and flung her upside-down, floating midair as her mask clattered to the ground.

"I can't see!" she cried out.

"We need to go!" Zuko yelled at Sokka, trying to figure out which bender was controlling Toph's feet to take them out. It was impossible to tell with how many there were.

"The last one's stuck," Sokka said frantically, hands trembling. "The key, it's—"

Zuko ran over and took over for him. "I'll get it. Try to help Toph."

He took a breath and focused on the key, trying to feel where it was stuck and jostle it loose. After a moment, he heard a click and felt the cuff fall loose.

"I got it," he said, looking up to see both of his friends bound in earth as the agents rounded on him.

He needed to bend. He'd never done so as the Blue Spirit, but what did he have to lose?

"Let them go!" he yelled, setting his swords on fire and sending an arc of flame between Sokka and one of the agents to cut them off.

There were too many of them, and they were all benders. Fire couldn't free his friends from earth.

"Just get Appa out," Sokka said desperately. "Find Aang."

He looked to Toph, still dangling in the air as tears streamed down her forehead. He couldn't save her. His best shot was to leave now and reenter. He knew how. The west entrance was only a few hundred meters away; he just had to fly out of here and come in another way, catch them off guard. He'd freed Aang from Zhao; he could do this, too. He just needed better positioning.

"I'll come back for you," he promised as he mounted the bison. "Just hold on, okay?"

The agents were trying to encase the bison's feet in earth. Appa was trying valiantly to avoid it, stomping around the room and roaring out in panic. How was Zuko supposed to control him?

"Appa, yip yip!" Sokka yelled.

The bison lifted himself on his hind legs and kicked his back legs free, beginning to take flight. Zuko clung onto his fur, hoping he wouldn't be bucked off.

"It's okay, buddy," he tried to reassure, patting the bison's fur as tears poured down his face. He pulled the mask up to see better, but he couldn’t make out what was happening below as they flew out the hatch and into the twilight sky.

"Uh, down," Zuko tried to instruct, kicking the bison with his legs. "We need to get Sokka and Toph." He pulled at fur in the direction of the west entrance, but the bison kept climbing higher into the sky. Zuko made the mistake of looking down and realized he was completely out of his element with no way to control this beast as his friends risked brainwashing far below and behind him. _What now?_ The bison let out a mighty roar that nearly scared him into falling off, but he managed to hold tight as the bison darted toward the city.

"What are you doing?" he asked fruitlessly.

He looked in the direction Appa was so determinedly headed and saw a small figure floating out in the distance. The Avatar. Of course. Sokka had said this would happen. Relief crashed over him as the figure swooped toward him.

"Thank the spirits," Zuko said as the Avatar soared next to him. 

"Zuko?!" he cried out, readying himself for a fight. "How did you steal Appa?" 

"Oh, right."

"Let him go!"

"I'm not stealing him," Zuko insisted, grabbing desperately at fur to keep himself from falling. "I'm rescuing him. Believe me, I'd prefer for you to have him, but first I need to get back to Lake Laogai."

"What do you mean, you're rescuing him?" the Avatar asked, closing his staff and hopping onto the bison in front of Zuko. "Where was he?"

"Under Lake Laogai," Zuko explained. "The Dai Li have a huge compound where they had him captive. Toph and Sokka got captured while we were trying to rescue him—we have to go back for them."

The Avatar's eyes widened. "Toph and Sokka are in trouble? I'm confused—you're working with them? Why? Is this a scheme to try to capture me?"

"Yes, I—wait, no," he sputtered. "I'll explain on the way. Just please direct this thing back to the ground."

The Avatar acquiesced and Zuko explained the bare bones of the story as they made their way back toward the lake.

"So you're Toph's mystery friend?" the Avatar asked. "Huh, I have to admit I never saw that coming."

Zuko rolled his eyes and tried to focus on their immediate mission. "Can you see with your feet like Toph can? I don't know where they'll be held."

The Avatar grimaced. "Sort of? I'm not nearly as good as her. I can't identify specific people or anything with it."

Zuko huffed. "That's not good. The compound's huge. I only have a vague idea where the holding cells and brainwashing rooms are."

"Brainwashing rooms?" the Avatar asked. Zuko explained that part of the story, too. "This is bad," he said when Zuko was finished.

"Yes, it's bad," Zuko said with irritation. At least the Avatar was listening to him, he supposed, and not trying to fight. It could be worse. "So we need to focus. There are dozens of agents down there and they were skilled enough to overwhelm Toph." He looked over the lake and pointed down. "That's the hatch I took Appa out of, but it's probably smarter to go in another way. The main entrance is to the west off that pier."

The Avatar looked down at the landmarks Zuko pointed out. "Okay," he said. "Are we charging or trying to be stealthy?"

"We should try sneaking," he said. "But as soon as they sound the alarm, we charge."

The Avatar gave a decisive nod and then hesitated. "You're not just trying to lure me underground to capture me, right? Or get me captured by the Dai Li?"

"What? No!" He sighed. "You have plenty of reasons not to trust me. If you can't, then just drop me off and I'll do it alone."

The Avatar shook his head. "I'm not risking my friends' lives because you might be lying. But just know that if you are, it's a really, really mean trick."

The corner of Zuko's lips drew up at that. "Yeah," he replied. "Good thing it's not a trick, then."

The bison drifted to the ground and the Avatar hopped off on a puff of air while Zuko slid nervously down the side. They led the bison to a nearby thicket and tried to conceal him in the brush.

"I hate leaving him already," the Avatar said, biting his lip. 

Zuko wasn't thrilled, either, at the thought of losing the thing they'd all risked their lives for. "We don't have a choice," he said. "Come on."

To his credit, the Avatar was better at stealthing than either Toph or Sokka. He had enough of Toph's earthbending blindsense to roughly anticipate oncoming agents, but his airbending made him light enough on his feet that he barely made a sound. They made their way through the compound without incident, but after passing through several corridors and a myriad of doors, they weren't any closer to finding their friends. 

"Do we need to try every door?" the Avatar whispered.

Zuko thought. "If you can find me an agent on their own, I can take them down and ask."

"What if they yell for backup?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

The Avatar led them into an alcove as they waited for an agent to pass. Zuko lept out and pulled a sword to their throat, demanding to know where the latest prisoners were being kept. The agent gave up the information easily, directing them to a room off the main chamber.

"That area's going to be crawling with agents," Zuko said to the Avatar as he tied up the man he'd just interrogated.

"Sorry," the Avatar said to the man being tied and gagged.

Zuko stood up, task completed. "Let's just go."

The Avatar nodded and then went to scout the main chamber. There were four agents milling about, but Zuko knew how quickly they would pour in from who knows where.

There were three options for exiting. The long tunnel they had entered earlier, the west entrance, and the hatch in Appa's holding room. The holding room was a gamble; there was stone enough for someone to bend them to the top, but what if the bison didn't come? They'd be trapped in the middle of the lake.

He whispered these options to the Avatar. It felt strange consulting with a kid, but if he'd survived and evaded the Fire Nation this long, he must have good instincts. 

"Let's try to go out the way we came," the Avatar suggested. "But Appa's room is a backup if we can't get there. He'll come at my whistle. The tunnel is too risky if we're being pursued by a bunch of earthbenders."

Zuko nodded, then noticed the agents heading into one of the rooms off the main chamber. "Now," he urged, tiptoeing around the corner.

They hugged the wall, creeping as quietly as they could toward the holding room the agent had indicated. They approached the heavy metal door and tried the handle. Locked, of course. Zuko pulled out the keyring stolen from the agents and began trying door keys until one of them popped. He pushed the door open as quietly as could be, slinking into the dark shadows.

The Avatar followed and then shut the door behind them, propping it open a crack with a small mound of stone.

Zuko lit a fire in his hand to reveal Toph and Sokka, both gagged and handcuffed. Sokka was blindfolded, and Toph's feet were encased in metal. Sokka was mumbling something into his gag while Toph stood silent and crying.

"It's me," Zuko whispered, going to undo Sokka's gag. "And I brought the Avatar."

"You came back."

"I said I would," he said, pulling off Sokka's blindfold and feeling a bit overwhelmed as wide eyes stared at him in relief. 

"What did they do to my feet?” Toph sniffled as soon as her gag was removed by the Avatar. “I can't bend them free."

"There's a metal box around your feet," the Avatar said. "Zuko, let me see the keys."

Zuko tossed them to Aang and bent over to aid with his light near the lock. "This one freed Appa," he said, pointing to the correct key. "If it doesn't work, it should be one of the similar ones."

They tried every key to no avail.

"I'm trapped like this?" Toph asked, her voice and body trembling.

"Let's at least get you and Sokka uncuffed," the Avatar said. "I think it's this one."

Removing the handcuffs was no problem, but after trying each key again, it was clear the key to the metal box was not there.

"We'll just have to carry you out," Zuko said apologetically. "You can hold onto me, okay?"

"We're going to get attacked!" Toph said. "And I won't be able to help. I'll slow you down. Just—" She focused intently on the metal prison and then groaned in frustration when it didn't budge. "I want it off!"

"I know," Sokka said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll find a way to get it off you," the Avatar reassured. "I promise. But right now—"

The sound of footsteps and muffled voices sounded in the chamber outside.

"Right now we have to move," Zuko finished. "Toph, I'll protect you."

"Maybe I should carry her?" Sokka offered. "You've got your swords and bending, and I'm…" He gestured toward himself with a shrug.

"I'll still have my bending while carrying her if someone attacks us," Zuko reasoned. Sokka had a point that he'd be slightly incapacitated, but he'd feel better if a bender was carrying her. He didn't want to leave both of them behind again. "It's up to you, Toph."

"I'll go with you," she said in a small voice. "Let's just get out of here."

The Avatar looked surprised by her decision but accepted it. The shuffling neared. 

"I'm hoisting you over my shoulders, okay?" Zuko said as he grabbed Toph. "I know it sucks," he tried to reassure her.

"They won't expect airbending," Sokka was telling the Avatar. "Just blast us a clear path out."

The Avatar threw the door open with a gust of wind and followed up with an attack on the agents, knocking them against the walls before they could get in a word. The four of them pressed forward, hoping the advantage of surprise would carry them to the exit.

"The Avatar?" Zuko heard someone ask. With Toph on his shoulders, he couldn't afford to turn to look, but he knew there were more agents in pursuit. They had to press forward.

He ran. A block of earth rose up below him and he tripped, crashing to the floor. Toph bounced off over his shoulders and landed with a thud. They were still in the main chamber. He glanced up to see Sokka and the Avatar had just made it to the corridor ahead.

"Wait!" he called to them, racing to stand up in front of Toph to stall the agents. "Sokka, grab her!"

He launched an assault of fire on the oncoming agents, but he couldn't protect himself from every angle. An agent surprised him from the left with a block of stone to his side and he slammed onto the ground with a heavy groan.

"Zuko!" he heard Toph cry.

His vision began to swim as the agent bound his limbs in earth, too weak to fight back. Just as he was about to give into the pain, a sheet of crumpled metal flew through the air and encased itself around the agent's head. An instant later, Zuko's bindings crumbled to the ground. He rolled over to see Toph unbound and upright in a fighting stance.

"That's right, assholes," she yelled, bending a nearby metal grate free from the wall and chucking it at the agents. "I can metalbend now!" 

From behind her ran Sokka, reaching for Zuko. "You're hurt, can you move?" he asked, looking over his body for injuries. Zuko tried to prop himself up and fell back to the ground, wincing in pain. "I'm going to pick you up, okay, buddy?"

Zuko managed a nod and let Sokka heft him onto his shoulders. Toph continued fighting, aided by the Avatar, as the four of them backed toward the exit. When they were several dozen meters down the corridor, Toph yelled, "Now!" She threw up a wall of stone to block the agents as the Avatar blew a hole in the ceiling and raised them out on a platform of earth. Zuko had never been so happy to see the sky.

Moments later, he felt himself floating up onto the bison's back, too dizzy to acknowledge how.

"Zuko, stay with me," Sokka said, drawing a hand gently to his cheek.

"We made it," Zuko muttered, managing a smile. He felt like he'd been run over by a tank, but they were all alive.

Sokka smiled back at him, worry etched on his face. "I think you have a head injury from when you hit the ground. You need a healer. We're going to get you to Katara, okay?"

He frowned and tried to sit up, wincing when he couldn't. "I need to get to Uncle. He'll be worried."

"We'll get Katara and then get you to your uncle once you're stable," Sokka said, squeezing his hand.

"Appa, yip yip!" he heard the Avatar call. Nausea lurched through him as the bison took flight.

"You'll be okay," Sokka soothed. "Grab onto Appa if you can. We don't have his saddle anymore."

He ran a hand through thick fur and grabbed at it. 

"Glad you made it, Teaboy. Just keep hanging in there," Toph said from beside him. He turned to see her clutching tightly at fur with both hands. "And thanks for coming back for us."

"You," he began, wincing through the pain, "you can metalbend."

"I know! I'm the greatest earthbender in the world!"

He let out a small laugh that turned into a cough. "My chest hurts," he said.

"I think you got knocked with a huge chunk of stone," Sokka explained. "I didn't totally see, but there were agents coming from almost all angles. It was reckless to take them on alone."

"What else could I have done?" Zuko asked. It had been the only move at the time.

"Hauled ass out of there?" Sokka suggested. "It was brave to stay to protect Toph when she couldn't see or move."

Zuko hadn't even considered that as an option. He said nothing.

"So are you on our side now?" the Avatar asked from the front of the bison.

"He saved Appa and he saved me and Toph," Sokka answered for him. "We don't need to worry about sides."

"You do, though," Zuko said. "We're in the middle of a war." He took a deep breath as a shiver ran through him. "I think you're doing the right thing trying to stop my father."

Sokka stared at him with wide eyes. "You're not just saying that because of the head injury?"

"No," Zuko replied, feeling resolute. "What he's doing is cruel and wrong. What he did to _me_ was cruel and wrong." As he said the words, he felt a weight lift from his chest just as dizziness began to settle in 

"Glad you're finally coming around, Teaboy," Toph said. "Your dad sucks and we're gonna kick his ass."

Zuko couldn't feel encouraged by her confidence. The conversation was beginning to tax him and he closed his eyes.

"Stay with me, buddy," Sokka said, patting his cheek. 

Another wave of nausea cascaded through him. Everything felt hot. Somebody was talking, but he could no longer process who. Sokka. Sokka's hand was on his cheek. He was supposed to be holding onto the bison. He was supposed to keep his eyes open. His head felt full of fluff.

"Zuko?"

More nausea. His head was spinning. He tried to pry open his eyes, focus on Sokka's words, remember where he was.

Instead he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some action! Things are happening! I opted not to fact check this against the Lake Laogai episode because I wanted some control over the layout and events, so excuse any inconsistencies as creative liberties.
> 
> Thanks everyone for reading, I always love reading your comments!


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